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The Pill and the Same-Sex Marriage
It appears that my guess about the connection between the invention of the Pill and the recent SCOTUS decision wrt same-sex marriage is not a hypothesis, but rather a piece of common knowledge, easily available through the wikipedia.
Here's how it all developed chronologically:
1960 - the FDA approves the Pill as a contraceptive that can be prescribed by a medical doctor.
1965 - the SCOTUS establishes the right to privacy (7-2), by striking down a Connecticut law that prohibits any person from using "any drug, medicinal article or instrument for the purpose of preventing conception." (Griswold v. Connecticut). Under the ruling, doctors can prescribe contraceptives to married couples.
1972 - the SCOTUS (6-1) extends the right to use contraceptives to unmarried couples under the Equal Protection Clause (Eisenstadt v. Baird).
1986 - the SCOTUS upholds (5-4) a Georgia law that prohibits oral and anal sex b/w consenting males (Bowers v. Hardwick). The dissenting opinion says that homosexuals have the right to privacy.
2003 - the SCOTUS strikes down (6-3) a Texas law that prohibits certain same-sex acts (Lawrence v. Texas), overturning the 1986 decision. The majority opinion cites the right to privacy established in 1965.
2015 - the SCOTUS legalizes same-sex marriages (Obergefell v. Hodges) under the Equal Protection Clause.
In short:
- the Pill forces legalization of doctor-prescribed contraceptives and leads to the establishment of the right to privacy for married couples;
- under the Equal Protection Clause, the right is extended to unmarried couples;
- same-sex acts are allowed because of the right to privacy;
- under the Equal Protection Clause, same-sex marriages are legal.
Here's how it all developed chronologically:
1960 - the FDA approves the Pill as a contraceptive that can be prescribed by a medical doctor.
1965 - the SCOTUS establishes the right to privacy (7-2), by striking down a Connecticut law that prohibits any person from using "any drug, medicinal article or instrument for the purpose of preventing conception." (Griswold v. Connecticut). Under the ruling, doctors can prescribe contraceptives to married couples.
1972 - the SCOTUS (6-1) extends the right to use contraceptives to unmarried couples under the Equal Protection Clause (Eisenstadt v. Baird).
1986 - the SCOTUS upholds (5-4) a Georgia law that prohibits oral and anal sex b/w consenting males (Bowers v. Hardwick). The dissenting opinion says that homosexuals have the right to privacy.
2003 - the SCOTUS strikes down (6-3) a Texas law that prohibits certain same-sex acts (Lawrence v. Texas), overturning the 1986 decision. The majority opinion cites the right to privacy established in 1965.
2015 - the SCOTUS legalizes same-sex marriages (Obergefell v. Hodges) under the Equal Protection Clause.
In short:
- the Pill forces legalization of doctor-prescribed contraceptives and leads to the establishment of the right to privacy for married couples;
- under the Equal Protection Clause, the right is extended to unmarried couples;
- same-sex acts are allowed because of the right to privacy;
- under the Equal Protection Clause, same-sex marriages are legal.