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114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 193 

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the historic Griswold v. Connecticut 

decision of the Supreme Court of the United States and expressing 

the sense of the Senate that the case was an important step forward 

in helping ensure that all people of the United States are able to 

use contraceptives to plan pregnancies and have healthier babies. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 4, 2015 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mrs. BOXER, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. BROWN, Ms. 

HIRONO, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. WARREN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. BOOKER, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. COONS, Mr. KING, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. FRANKEN, Mr. WARNER, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. KAINE, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. 

MERKLEY, and Ms. BALDWIN) submitted the following resolution; which 

was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the historic Griswold 

v. Connecticut decision of the Supreme Court of the 

United States and expressing the sense of the Senate 

that the case was an important step forward in helping 

ensure that all people of the United States are able 

to use contraceptives to plan pregnancies and have 

healthier babies. 

Whereas, prior to the landmark decision of the Supreme 

Court of the United States in Griswold v. Connecticut, 

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•SRES 193 IS 

381 U.S. 479 (1965), married women in many States 

were lawfully forbidden from using family planning tools 

such as contraceptives and condoms; 

Whereas the historic Griswold case provided precedent for future cases in the Supreme Court that extended the right 

to use contraceptives to all women, regardless of marital 

status; 

Whereas, since Griswold, millions of women have used contraceptives to plan pregnancies, resulting in healthier 

women, healthier pregnancies, healthier families, and 

greater financial security for families; 

Whereas, despite having the legal right to use contraceptives, 

many women who need family planning and sexual health 

services still face financial and other barriers to getting 

the necessary care; 

Whereas, because of limited access to affordable family planning services, low-income women are 5 times more likely 

to have an unintended pregnancy compared to women 

with higher incomes, and unintended pregnancy rates are 

increasing for poor and low-income women while decreasing for women with higher incomes; 

Whereas Black and Latino women are disproportionately affected by the lack of access to contraceptives and reproductive health care; 

Whereas programs such as the population research and voluntary family planning programs under title X of the 

Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300 et seq.) and 

the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) help low-income women 

access high-quality, affordable family planning care, inmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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•SRES 193 IS 

cluding contraceptives, that helps women plan pregnancies and stay healthy; 

Whereas the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 

(Public Law 111–148) is helping realize the promise of 

Griswold by removing barriers to care by requiring that 

all insurance providers offer contraceptives and reproductive preventive health care services at no cost to women, 

and, as of 2014, more than 55,000,000 women were benefitting from coverage without cost-sharing for preventive 

services, including birth control, according to the Department of Health and Human Services; 

Whereas, each year, publicly funded contraceptives and family planning services help prevent approximately 

2,000,000 unplanned pregnancies, 800,000 abortions, 

400,000 miscarriages, and 200,000 pre-term and low 

birth rate births; 

Whereas, in 2015, the Institute of Medicine listed using birth 

control to reduce unintended pregnancies as 1 of 15 core 

measures for furthering health progress and improving 

health; 

Whereas, as the number of contraceptive methods expands, it 

is more important than ever that all women have access 

to the full range of contraceptive methods, including the 

most effective methods, so that each woman can choose 

the method that works best for her; and 

Whereas every dollar invested in publicly funded contraceptive saves taxpayers $7.09: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

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•SRES 193 IS 

1 (1) celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 1965 

2 Griswold v. Connecticut decision of the Supreme 

3 Court of the United States; 

4 (2) recognizes that birth control constitutes 

5 basic health care for women; 

6 (3) recognizes that, despite the monumental 

7 Griswold decision, affordable contraceptives unfortu8 nately remain inaccessible to many poor and low-in9 come women; 

10 (4) encourages robust investment in publicly 

11 funded family planning services as a means to help 

12 women plan pregnancies and have healthier babies; 

13 (5) recognizes that investments in publicly 

14 funded family planning services help prevent un15 planned pregnancies and abortions and help save 

16 taxpayer dollars; 

17 (6) acknowledges that all women, regardless of 

18 income or zip code, should have affordable access to 

19 the tools that help women plan and space their preg20 nancies; and 

21 (7) recognizes the value of the publicly funded 

22 family planning safety net in helping to realize the 

23 promise of the Griswold decision. 

Æ 

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