Eisenstadt v. Baird
Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U.S. 438 (1972), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that established the right of unmarried people to possess contraception on the same basis as married couples.
| Eisenstadt v. Baird | |
|---|---|
Supreme Court of the United States | |
| Argued November 17–18, 1971 Decided March 22, 1972 | |
| Full case name | Thomas S. Eisenstadt, Sheriff of Suffolk County, Massachusetts v. William F. Baird |
| Citations | 405 U.S. 438 (more) 92 S. Ct. 1029; 31 L. Ed. 2d 349; 1972 U.S. LEXIS 145 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Habeas corpus petition dismissed, Baird v. Eisenstadt, 310 F. Supp. 951 (D. Mass. 1970); reversed, 429 F.2d 1398 (1st Cir. 1970). |
| Subsequent | None |
| Holding | |
| A Massachusetts law criminalizing the distribution of contraceptives to unmarried persons for the purpose of preventing pregnancy violated the right to equal protection. Judgment of the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Brennan, joined by Douglas, Stewart, Marshall |
| Concurrence | Douglas |
| Concurrence | White (in result), joined by Blackmun |
| Dissent | Burger |
| Powell and Rehnquist took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. | |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amends. IX, XIV | |
The Court struck down a Massachusetts law prohibiting the distribution of contraceptives to unmarried people for the purpose of preventing pregnancy, ruling that it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The decision effectively legalized (heterosexual) premarital sex in the United States.
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