Question

How are the Griswold v. Connecticut and Roe v. Wade cases similar?

Both were based on the Fifth Amendment.
Both were decided by the same justices.
Both were challenging enumerated rights.
Both challenged the constitutionality of state laws.

Answer 1

Correct answer: Both challenged the constitutionality of state laws.

Brief explanation:
- Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) struck down a Connecticut statute banning contraceptives for married couples.
- Roe v. Wade (1973) struck down a Texas statute that criminalized most abortions.
Both cases involved challenges to state laws as violating constitutional protections.

Why the other choices are incorrect:
- Not based on the Fifth Amendment: Roe relied on the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause (privacy/substantive due process); Griswold grounded a right to privacy in the "penumbras" and "emanations" of several Bill of Rights provisions and the Ninth Amendment, applied against the states via the Fourteenth.
- Not decided by the same justices: the membership of the Court changed between 1965 and 1973.
- Not challenges to enumerated rights: both cases involved asserted rights (privacy/decisionmaking about pregnancy and contraception) that are not explicitly enumerated in the Constitution.