[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8282-8283]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          FORTY-EIGHTH ANNIVERSARY OF GRISWOLD V. CONNECTICUT

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, 48 years ago on June 5, the U.S. Supreme 
Court made a landmark ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut, which 
legalized birth control for married couples in all 50 States and paved 
the way for women and men to have legal access to contraception.
  The Justices' decision not only recognized birth control as a right 
protected under our Constitution, but empowered women and families to 
make decisions in the best interest of their health and well-being.
  In fact, access to birth control has had such a dramatic impact on 
women and families in this country that the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention named it one of the top 10 public health achievements of 
the past century, along with vaccinations and adding fluoride to water.
  Family planning and contraceptive services give women and couples the 
ability to determine timing of births and family size.
  Research shows that having smaller families and spacing out births 
improve the health of children and women.
  Access to contraception also improves the economic and social well-
being of women.
  Contraception allows young women to postpone pregnancy until they 
finish school, secure a good job, and are as ready as any parent can be 
to start a family.
  The benefits of contraception help not only women, but their 
children.
  When parents have prepared themselves financially and mentally to 
love and support a child, the child reaps all the benefits.
  While the Supreme Court's 1965 ruling on Griswold v. Connecticut 
paved the way for legalizing contraception, the Federal Government has 
played a key role in expanding access to family planning services.
  In 1970, under President Nixon, title X was created and remains the 
only dedicated source of Federal funding for family planning services 
in the U.S.

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  Title X provides critical family planning and preventive health care 
to 5.2 million low-income and uninsured women and men across the 
country.
  Title X services prevent nearly 1 million unintended pregnancies each 
year, almost half of which would otherwise end in abortion.
  In 1972, 2 years after the creation of title X, Medicaid funding for 
family planning was authorized.
  Last year, a key provision of the health care reform law took effect 
that builds on the legacy of Griswold v. Connecticut.
  New health insurance plans will now cover a range of preventive 
health services, including contraception services, at no cost.
  The annual cost of birth control pills can range from $160 to $600. 
For many women, that expense has been a barrier to accessing basic 
health care.
  Over the last 48 years, we have made tremendous progress ensuring 
women have access to quality health care and are free to make decisions 
about their own health.
  As we remember Griswold v. Connecticut, we must remember those who 
fought to ensure access to contraception. We must protect personal 
freedoms and defend our Nation from efforts to undermine access to 
basic health care.

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