Kresta In The Afternoon: The Bad Decision That Started It All

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The Bad Decision That Started It All

Forty-four years ago, in Griswold v Connecticut, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down state laws forbidding the sale, distribution, and use of contraceptives on the basis of a novel constitutional doctrine known as the “right to marital privacy.” At the time, the decision appeared to be harmless. After all, Griswold simply allowed married couples to decide whether to use contraceptives. But the Supreme Court soon transformed the “right to privacy” into a powerful tool for making public policy. No one doubts that there are true privacy rights in the Constitution, but the justices in Griswold produced a non-text-based and generalized right. “Privacy” functioned as a euphemism for immunity from those public-morals laws deemed by the justices to reflect benighted moral views. The case was argued before the Supremes 44 years ago this week. Robert George is here to discuss what he calls “The Bad Decision That Started It All."