Response of Law to New Technology Contraception Essay

The rapid advances in science and medicine since 1950, and especially the advances in computer technology since 1980, have revolutionized the way society functions. It is widely recognized that our society is making a transition from the industrial manufacturing age to an information age. In contrast, the U.S. Constitution and most of our common law was written when people lived in an agrarian economy prior to 1850. Law has been slow to adapt to the choices posed by technology. While I believe that knowledge, opportunities, and choices are inherently Good, there are the possibilities of (1) prohibiting or restricting use of new technologies for no good reason or (2) of misusing technology to harm people. Law that made sense in 1850, or†¦show more content†¦Mail by the Comstock Law, together with quot;obscene, lewd or lasciviousquot; publications. See U.S. v. Chase, 135 U.S. 255, 257 (1890); Andrews v. U.S., 162 U.S. 420 (1896). As a result, condoms were sold for prevention o f sexually-transmitted disease (i.e., quot;prophylacticsquot;), not as contraceptives. Some state statutes, notably in Connecticut, prohibited the distribution of information about contraception and also prohibited the distribution of contraceptive devices or drugs. The U.S. Supreme Court in a series of three famous decisions, invalidated laws making contraception illegal. In Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965), the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a Connecticut state law that prohibited use of contraceptives and also prohibited any person (including a physician or pharmacist) from giving advice about contraception. Because Griswold, who was director of a Planned Parenthood clinic and a professor at Yale Medical School, was giving married people information, instruction, and medical advice about contraception, this case is sometimes said to uphold the right of married people to have information about contraception. In Eisenstadt v. Baird. 405 U.S. 438 (1972), the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a Massachusetts state law that prohibited the sale or gift of nonprescription contraceptives. Because Baird gave a can of spermicidal foam to an adult unmarried woman, this case upholds the right ofShow MoreRelatedBirth Control: Past and Present1245 Words   |  5 Pagesback to the days of Aristotle who is thought to be the first person use different herbs and oils as spermicides (www.pbs.org). In an age where pregnancy prevention and contraception is extremely prevalent, it is interesting to think of a time where it was just as prevalent, but preformed without the medicines and modes of contraception we use today. 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