Yale Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences

The Yale Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences has a long history of championing access to comprehensive reproductive health care. In 1965, a faculty member and chair of the Yale department, C. Lee Buxton, MD, was one of two named appellants in the landmark Griswold v. Connecticut US Supreme Court opinion. This decision, which came after a decade of advocacy work by Dr. Buxton, struck down a Connecticut state law prohibiting administration of contraception as it violated the constitutional right to marital privacy. The court affirmed that reproduction is a private decision, which should be free of government interference. Griswold v. Connecticut set a precedent that is credited with protecting reproductive rights and allowing the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision.