This 1965 case established the importance of marital privacy and ruled that it is unconstitutional to regulate birth control for married couples.
Estelle Griswold, the executive director of the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut, and Dr. C. Lee Buxton were arrested and found guilty of providing illegal contraception under a Connecticut law which criminalized the use and encouragement of birth control. Griswold and Buxton were fined $100 each. They appealed to the Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut, claiming the 1879 law violated the Constitution. The Connecticut court upheld the conviction. Griswold and Buxton appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled in a 7-2 decision that the Connecticut law violated the right to marital privacy granted under the 14th amendment, which includes access to birth control.