[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 311 Introduced in House (IH)]






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 providing 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 California, 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 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 private 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 childbearing years, for health purposes and 
        family planning;
Whereas birth control is a critical component of basic preventive 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;
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 increased the ability of 
        women, regardless of economic status, 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 dollar spent on publicly-funded family 
        planning, $3 is saved in pregnancy-related and newborn care cost to the 
        Medicaid program alone;
Whereas the Congress had repeatedly recognized the importance 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 challenges 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 pregnant before age 20; and
Whereas publicly-funded family planning clinics are the only source of health 
        care for many uninsured and low-income 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 contraceptives--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 maternal and 
                infant health and significant reductions in the rate of 
                unintended pregnancy; and
                    (D) allowed women the ability to achieve personal 
                educational and professional goals critical to the 
                economic success of the Nation; and
            (2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
        the Congress should take further steps to ensure that all women 
        have universal access to affordable contraception.
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