IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 311 
Recognizing the importance of the decision of the Supreme Court, Griswold 
v. Connecticut, which 40 years ago held that married couples have 
a constitutional right to use contraceptives, thereby recognizing the legal 
right of women to control their fertility through birth control and pro-
viding for vast improvements in maternal and infant health and for 
significant reductions in the rate of unintended pregnancy, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 9, 2005 
Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. 
LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. SIMMONS, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mrs. BIGGERT, 
Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. KOLBE, Mr. SCHIFF, Mrs. DAVIS of Cali-
fornia, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. FILNER, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. BALDWIN, Mrs. 
MALONEY, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Ms. WATSON, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN 
of California, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. 
LANTOS, Mr. OWENS, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE 
JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, 
Ms. HARMAN, Mr. CAPUANO, Ms. CARSON, Mrs. MCCARTHY, Ms. SOLIS, 
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. STARK, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. 
WEXLER, Mr. FARR, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. 
INSLEE, and Mr. SANDERS) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the importance of the decision of the Supreme 
Court, Griswold v. Connecticut, which 40 years ago held 
that married couples have a constitutional right to use 
contraceptives, thereby recognizing the legal right of 
women to control their fertility through birth control
•HRES 311 IH 
and providing for vast improvements in maternal and 
infant health and for significant reductions in the rate 
of unintended pregnancy, and for other purposes. 
Whereas June 7, 2005, marks the 40th anniversary of the 
decision of the Supreme Court, Griswold v. Connecticut, 
in which the Court recognized the constitutional right of 
married couples to use contraception; 
Whereas in Griswold v. Connecticut, the Court affirmed 
Americans’ constitutional right to privacy and restrained 
the government’s power to interfere in fundamentally pri-
vate and personal activities like managing our health, 
family planning, and child bearing; 
Whereas the decision paved the way for widespread use of 
birth control among American women; 
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(‘‘CDC’’) recognized family planning in its published list 
of the ‘‘Ten Great Public Health Achievements in the 
20th Century’’; 
Whereas contraceptives are basic health care for women, 
many of whom use birth control throughout their child-
bearing years, for health purposes and family planning; 
Whereas birth control is a critical component of basic preven-
tive health care for women and has been the driving force 
in reducing national rates of unintended pregnancy and 
the need for abortion; 
Whereas the ability of women to control their fertility and 
avoid unintended pregnancy has led to dramatic declines 
in maternal and infant mortality rates and has improved 
maternal and infant health;
•HRES 311 IH 
Whereas in 1965 there were 31.6 maternal deaths per 
100,000 live births but in 2000 the rate declined to 9.8 
such deaths per live births, and in 1965 24.7 infants 
under one year of age died per 1,000 live births but in 
2003 the rate declined to 7 such deaths per live births; 
Whereas publicly-funded family planning programs have in-
creased the ability of women, regardless of economic sta-
tus, to access birth control and experience the resulting 
health and economic benefits; 
Whereas public investment in this most basic preventive 
health care is extremely cost effective, and for every dol-
lar spent on publicly-funded family planning, $3 is saved 
in pregnancy-related and newborn care cost to the Med-
icaid program alone; 
Whereas the Congress had repeatedly recognized the impor-
tance of women’s ability to access contraceptives through 
support for the Medicaid program, the program under 
title X of the Public Health Service Act, and the Federal 
Employee Health Benefits Program; 
Whereas 40 years after Griswold, many women still face chal-
lenges in accessing birth control and using it effectively; 
Whereas the United States has one of the highest rates of 
unintended pregnancy among Western nations, and each 
year half of the 6.3 million pregnancies in the Nation are 
unintended, with nearly half of those ending in abortion; 
Whereas, although teen pregnancy rates have dramatically 
declined, 78 percent of teen pregnancies are unintended 
and more than one-third of teen girls will become preg-
nant before age 20; and 
Whereas publicly-funded family planning clinics are the only 
source of health care for many uninsured and low-income
•HRES 311 IH 
women, and of the almost 17 million women who are in 
need of subsidized care, such clinics play a crucial role 
in serving 7 million of them, a number which grew by 
400,000 alone between 2000 and 2002 due to a rising 
uninsured population: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That— 
(1) the House of Representatives recognizes the 
importance of the decision of the Supreme Court, 
Griswold v. Connecticut, which— 
(A) 40 years ago held that married couples 
have a constitutional right to use contracep-
tives—a right that the Court would extend to 
unmarried individuals within a decade; 
(B) recognized the legal right of women to 
control their fertility through birth control; 
(C) provided for vast improvements in ma-
ternal and infant health and significant reduc-
tions in the rate of unintended pregnancy; and 
(D) allowed women the ability to achieve 
personal educational and professional goals crit-
ical to the economic success of the Nation; and 
(2) it is the sense of the House of Representa-
tives that the Congress should take further steps to 
ensure that all women have universal access to af-
fordable contraception. 
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