The Supreme Court case Carey v. Population Services International in 1976 revolved around a New York law that restricted the distribution of contraceptives to licensed pharmacists and prohibited their sale to minors under 16 years old. The court ruled, by a vote of seven to two, that this law was unconstitutional as it violated the right to privacy protected by the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause. The majority opinion held that individuals have a constitutional right to decide whether or not they want children without government interference and therefore should be able access contraceptives freely. Furthermore, it was decided that limiting contraceptive sales only through licensed pharmacists unnecessarily burdened this right while failing to serve any compelling state interest.

In the dissenting opinion for Carey v. Population Services International, Justice William Rehnquist argued that the majority's decision to strike down a New York law restricting access to contraceptives was an overreach of judicial power. He contended that it is not within the Court's purview to determine whether such laws are wise or unwise; rather, its role is simply to decide if they violate constitutional rights. In his view, this particular law did not infrive upon any constitutionally protected right and thus should have been upheld. Furthermore, he disagreed with the majority’s application of strict scrutiny in reviewing this case as he believed it was inappropriate given that minors were involved and their welfare could be at stake due to potential health risks associated with contraceptive use without medical supervision.