FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 7, 2017
Contact: Audrey Sandusky, (202) 344-5805, asandusky@nfprha.org 

NFPRHA Pays Tribute to 52nd Anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut 

Anniversary comes as the White House, Congress and statehouses across the U.S. consider policies that could dismantle the family planning safety net.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), representing a diverse network of publicly funded health practitioners and program administrators, celebrates the 52nd anniversary of the 1965 Supreme Court decision Griswold v. Connecticut that affirmed the right of married people to use contraception and first recognized an individual’s right to privacy in family planning matters. To recognize the observance, NFPRHA is hosting a congressional briefing on June 8, “Contraceptive Access at a Crossroads: The Attack on Griswold’s Promise,” and details on the event are below. The Griswold case paved the way for all women and men in the US to access high-quality family planning services and was a catalyst for the Title X family planning program, which was signed into law in 1970 by President Richard Nixon.

Fifty-two years after Griswold, political ideology continues to erode contraceptive access on both the federal and state levels. As a result, millions of individuals – many of whom depend on publicly funded family planning as their sole source of health care – could be at risk of losing access to this preventive health care.

The White House budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2018 requests that Congress not only slash funding for Medicaid, a safety-net program that underpins the nation’s family planning provider network, but also prohibit all Labor-HHS appropriations from Planned Parenthood. Furthermore, numerous state efforts are currently underway to discriminate against providers from receiving Medicaid reimbursements and participating in Title X and state family planning programs.

“More than a half-century after Griswold, some in Congress and statehouses across the country are determined to roll back the bedrock principles of this landmark case by pushing policies that dismantle the family planning safety net and seriously jeopardize the health of those who rely on it for care,” said Clare Coleman, president & CEO of NFPRHA. “Family planning care helps women and men stay healthy, improve their economic security, and support their families. Instead of seeking legislative and administrative opportunities to chip away at provider network that delivers this essential care, I call on Congress and legislators across the country to fulfil the promise of Griswold by protecting the public resources that sustain cost-effective, community-based programs.” 

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The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) is a membership organization representing providers and administrators committed to helping people get the family planning education and care they need to make the best choices for themselves and their loved ones. NFPRHA works to enhance the ability of thousands of nurse practitioners, doctors, and other health professionals to provide high-quality family planning care through training and advocacy. For more information, visit nationalfamilyplanning.org.