EMILYs List Recognizes the Anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tomorrow, June 7th, marks the anniversary of the decision in Griswold v. Connecticut. In this landmark case, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the right to privacy and ruled a law governing contraceptive use was unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment. The anniversary comes just days after Republicans blocked a vote for the Right to Contraception Act in the Senate. The bill, designed to enshrine the right to birth control, failed in part thanks to votes by Sens. Rick Scott, Marco Rubio, and Tim Scott, among others. EMILYs List President Jessica Mackler released the following statement recognizing the anniversary and drawing attention to continued attempts by Republicans to rob Americans of access to reproductive health care:

“On the anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court Case Griswold v. Connecticut, we must reflect on the impact it has had on reproductive rights in America. Almost 60 years ago, the Supreme Court recognized the fundamental right to privacy in contraception, empowering millions with the freedom to make their own reproductive health care choices. Today that freedom is under threat. Republicans at every level of government have an agenda — they want to roll back access to birth control, dismantling decades of progress in reproductive health care. This is not a distant possibility, it is a future they are fighting for — and one they voted for just this week.

“Confronted with the powerful majority of Americans taking a stand against their anti-choice agenda at the ballot box, Republicans are trying to rebrand and hide their plans. We will not let them hide from their records, which are undeniably anti-freedom, anti-choice and anti-abortion. EMILYs List remains committed to electing the Democratic pro-choice women who will fight for access to birth control and ensure that the legacy of Griswold v. Connecticut endures. Our freedoms depend on it.”

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, works to elect Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot and across the country with a goal of fighting for our rights and our communities. Our work is centered around a fundamental vision: Run. Win. Change the World. EMILYs List has raised $850 million in service to that vision and has helped Democratic women win competitive elections by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running one of the largest independent expenditure operations for Democrats, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country’s first woman as vice president, 175 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 20 governors, and over 1,500 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. Visit www.emilyslist.org for more information.