Which case established the constitutional right to privacy in marital relations and contraception?

• A. Roe v. Wade (1973)
• B. Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972)
• C. Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)
• D. Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

Answer: (C)

Griswold v. Connecticut establishes that the Constitution protects a private decision about contraception within marriage. The Court struck down a law banning the use of birth control by married couples, saying that the right to privacy in intimate, family life is implicit in the liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. The justices argued that guarantees in the First, Third, Fourth, and Ninth Amendments collectively create a zone of privacy that shields the marital couple’s decisions about whether to use contraception from government interference. This case is the foundation for recognizing privacy in intimate matters tied to marriage, setting up later rulings that extend privacy to other contexts. Eisenstadt later broadens privacy to individuals regardless of marital status, and Lawrence reinforces privacy in private sexual conduct more generally, but Griswold is the one that first established the marital-privacy and contraception right.