United States v. One Package

Appellant

United States

Appellee

Dr. Hannah M. Stone, claimant for "one package" (of merchandise)

Appellant's Claim

That Stone did not have the legal right to import one package of contraceptive devices into the United States, according to the 1930 Tariff Act.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant

Morris L. Ernst

Chief Lawyer for Appellee

Lamar Hardy

Judges

Augustus N. Hand, Learned Hand, Thomas Swan

Place

New York, New York

Date of Decision

7 December 1936

Decision

Laws prohibiting Americans from importing contraceptive devices or items causing "unlawful abortion" did not apply to physicians who used the items to protect the health of patients.

Related Cases

• New York v. Sanger, 118 N.E. 637 (1918).
• Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1964).
• Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U.S. 438 (1972).

Further Readings

• Chesler, Ellen. Woman of Valor: Margaret Sanger and the Birth Control Movement in America. New York: Doubleday/Anchor Books, 1992.
• Garrow, David J. Liberty and Sexuality: The Right to Privacy and the Making of Roe v. Wade. New York: Macmillan Publishing Group, 1994.
• Sicherman, Barbara, and Carol Hurd Green. Notable American Women: The Modern Period. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press, 1980.