diff --git a/Doc/library/httplib.rst b/Doc/library/httplib.rst
index fcdfbc0..23b0e64 100644
--- a/Doc/library/httplib.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/httplib.rst
@@ -70,12 +70,25 @@
       *source_address* was added.
 
 
-.. class:: HTTPSConnection(host[, port[, key_file[, cert_file[, strict[, timeout[, source_address]]]]]])
+.. class:: HTTPSConnection(host[, port[, key_file[, cert_file[, strict[, timeout[, source_address, context, check_hostname]]]]]])
 
    A subclass of :class:`HTTPConnection` that uses SSL for communication with
-   secure servers.  Default port is ``443``. *key_file* is the name of a PEM
-   formatted file that contains your private key. *cert_file* is a PEM formatted
-   certificate chain file.
+   secure servers.  Default port is ``443``.  If *context* is specified, it must
+   be a :class:`ssl.SSLContext` instance describing the various SSL options.
+
+   *key_file* and *cert_file* are deprecated, please use
+   :meth:`ssl.SSLContext.load_cert_chain` instead, or let
+   :func:`ssl.create_default_context` select the system's trusted CA
+   certificates for you.
+
+   Please read :ref:`ssl-security` for more information on best practices.
+
+   .. note::
+      If *context* is specified and has a :attr:`~ssl.SSLContext.verify_mode`
+      of either :data:`~ssl.CERT_OPTIONAL` or :data:`~ssl.CERT_REQUIRED`, then
+      by default *host* is matched against the host name(s) allowed by the
+      server's certificate.  If you want to change that behaviour, you can
+      explicitly set *check_hostname* to False.
 
    .. warning::
       This does not do any verification of the server's certificate.
@@ -88,6 +101,9 @@
    .. versionchanged:: 2.7
       *source_address* was added.
 
+   .. versionchanged:: 2.7.9
+      *context* and *check_hostname* was added.
+
 
 .. class:: HTTPResponse(sock, debuglevel=0, strict=0)
 
diff --git a/Doc/library/urllib2.rst b/Doc/library/urllib2.rst
index 0411e18..65d11e1 100644
--- a/Doc/library/urllib2.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/urllib2.rst
@@ -22,13 +22,10 @@
 The :mod:`urllib2` module defines the following functions:
 
 
-.. function:: urlopen(url[, data][, timeout])
+.. function:: urlopen(url[, data[, timeout[, cafile[, capath[, cadefault[, context]]]]])
 
    Open the URL *url*, which can be either a string or a :class:`Request` object.
 
-   .. warning::
-      HTTPS requests do not do any verification of the server's certificate.
-
    *data* may be a string specifying additional data to send to the server, or
    ``None`` if no such data is needed.  Currently HTTP requests are the only ones
    that use *data*; the HTTP request will be a POST instead of a GET when the
@@ -41,7 +38,19 @@
    The optional *timeout* parameter specifies a timeout in seconds for blocking
    operations like the connection attempt (if not specified, the global default
    timeout setting will be used).  This actually only works for HTTP, HTTPS and
-   FTP connections.
+         FTP connections.
+
+   If *context* is specified, it must be a :class:`ssl.SSLContext` instance
+   describing the various SSL options. See :class:`~httplib.HTTPSConnection` for
+   more details.
+
+   The optional *cafile* and *capath* parameters specify a set of trusted CA
+   certificates for HTTPS requests.  *cafile* should point to a single file
+   containing a bundle of CA certificates, whereas *capath* should point to a
+   directory of hashed certificate files.  More information can be found in
+   :meth:`ssl.SSLContext.load_verify_locations`.
+
+   The *cadefault* parameter is ignored.
 
    This function returns a file-like object with three additional methods:
 
@@ -66,7 +75,10 @@
    handled through the proxy.
 
    .. versionchanged:: 2.6
-      *timeout* was added.
+     *timeout* was added.
+
+   .. versionchanged:: 2.7.9
+      *cafile*, *capath*, *cadefault*, and *context* were added.
 
 
 .. function:: install_opener(opener)
@@ -280,9 +292,13 @@
    A class to handle opening of HTTP URLs.
 
 
-.. class:: HTTPSHandler()
+.. class:: HTTPSHandler([debuglevel[, context[, check_hostname]]])
 
-   A class to handle opening of HTTPS URLs.
+   A class to handle opening of HTTPS URLs. *context* and *check_hostname* have
+   the same meaning as for :class:`httplib.HTTPSConnection`.
+
+   .. versionchanged:: 2.7.9
+      *context* and *check_hostname* were added.
 
 
 .. class:: FileHandler()
diff --git a/Lib/httplib.py b/Lib/httplib.py
index b2f6e5c..db5fa37 100644
--- a/Lib/httplib.py
+++ b/Lib/httplib.py
@@ -1187,21 +1187,44 @@
 
         def __init__(self, host, port=None, key_file=None, cert_file=None,
                      strict=None, timeout=socket._GLOBAL_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT,
-                     source_address=None):
+                     source_address=None, context=None, check_hostname=None):
             HTTPConnection.__init__(self, host, port, strict, timeout,
                                     source_address)
             self.key_file = key_file
             self.cert_file = cert_file
+            if context is None:
+                context = ssl.create_default_context()
+            will_verify = context.verify_mode != ssl.CERT_NONE
+            if check_hostname is None:
+                check_hostname = will_verify
+            elif check_hostname and not will_verify:
+                raise ValueError("check_hostname needs a SSL context with "
+                                 "either CERT_OPTIONAL or CERT_REQUIRED")
+            if key_file or cert_file:
+                context.load_cert_chain(cert_file, key_file)
+            self._context = context
+            self._check_hostname = check_hostname
 
         def connect(self):
             "Connect to a host on a given (SSL) port."
 
-            sock = self._create_connection((self.host, self.port),
-                                          self.timeout, self.source_address)
+            HTTPConnection.connect(self)
+
             if self._tunnel_host:
-                self.sock = sock
-                self._tunnel()
-            self.sock = ssl.wrap_socket(sock, self.key_file, self.cert_file)
+                server_hostname = self._tunnel_host
+            else:
+                server_hostname = self.host
+            sni_hostname = server_hostname if ssl.HAS_SNI else None
+
+            self.sock = self._context.wrap_socket(self.sock,
+                                                  server_hostname=sni_hostname)
+            if not self._context.check_hostname and self._check_hostname:
+                try:
+                    ssl.match_hostname(self.sock.getpeercert(), server_hostname)
+                except Exception:
+                    self.sock.shutdown(socket.SHUT_RDWR)
+                    self.sock.close()
+                    raise
 
     __all__.append("HTTPSConnection")
 
diff --git a/Lib/test/keycert2.pem b/Lib/test/keycert2.pem
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c4a18bf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Lib/test/keycert2.pem
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----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+-----END PRIVATE KEY-----
+-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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+-----END CERTIFICATE-----
diff --git a/Lib/test/selfsigned_pythontestdotnet.pem b/Lib/test/selfsigned_pythontestdotnet.pem
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9a80073
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Lib/test/selfsigned_pythontestdotnet.pem
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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+-----END CERTIFICATE-----
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_httplib.py b/Lib/test/test_httplib.py
index 4b2a638..60165c1 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_httplib.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_httplib.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import httplib
 import array
 import httplib
+import os
 import StringIO
 import socket
 import errno
@@ -10,6 +11,14 @@
 
 from test import test_support
 
+here = os.path.dirname(__file__)
+# Self-signed cert file for 'localhost'
+CERT_localhost = os.path.join(here, 'keycert.pem')
+# Self-signed cert file for 'fakehostname'
+CERT_fakehostname = os.path.join(here, 'keycert2.pem')
+# Self-signed cert file for self-signed.pythontest.net
+CERT_selfsigned_pythontestdotnet = os.path.join(here, 'selfsigned_pythontestdotnet.pem')
+
 HOST = test_support.HOST
 
 class FakeSocket:
@@ -506,36 +515,140 @@
         self.assertEqual(httpConn.sock.gettimeout(), 30)
         httpConn.close()
 
+class HTTPSTest(TestCase):
 
-class HTTPSTimeoutTest(TestCase):
-# XXX Here should be tests for HTTPS, there isn't any right now!
+    def setUp(self):
+        if not hasattr(httplib, 'HTTPSConnection'):
+            self.skipTest('ssl support required')
+
+    def make_server(self, certfile):
+        from test.ssl_servers import make_https_server
+        return make_https_server(self, certfile=certfile)
 
     def test_attributes(self):
-        # simple test to check it's storing it
-        if hasattr(httplib, 'HTTPSConnection'):
-            h = httplib.HTTPSConnection(HOST, TimeoutTest.PORT, timeout=30)
-            self.assertEqual(h.timeout, 30)
+        # simple test to check it's storing the timeout
+        h = httplib.HTTPSConnection(HOST, TimeoutTest.PORT, timeout=30)
+        self.assertEqual(h.timeout, 30)
 
-    @unittest.skipIf(not hasattr(httplib, 'HTTPS'), 'httplib.HTTPS not available')
+    def test_networked(self):
+        # Default settings: requires a valid cert from a trusted CA
+        import ssl
+        test_support.requires('network')
+        with test_support.transient_internet('self-signed.pythontest.net'):
+            h = httplib.HTTPSConnection('self-signed.pythontest.net', 443)
+            with self.assertRaises(ssl.SSLError) as exc_info:
+                h.request('GET', '/')
+            self.assertEqual(exc_info.exception.reason, 'CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED')
+
+    def test_networked_noverification(self):
+        # Switch off cert verification
+        import ssl
+        test_support.requires('network')
+        with test_support.transient_internet('self-signed.pythontest.net'):
+            context = ssl._create_stdlib_context()
+            h = httplib.HTTPSConnection('self-signed.pythontest.net', 443,
+                                        context=context)
+            h.request('GET', '/')
+            resp = h.getresponse()
+            self.assertIn('nginx', resp.getheader('server'))
+
+    def test_networked_trusted_by_default_cert(self):
+        # Default settings: requires a valid cert from a trusted CA
+        test_support.requires('network')
+        with test_support.transient_internet('www.python.org'):
+            h = httplib.HTTPSConnection('www.python.org', 443)
+            h.request('GET', '/')
+            resp = h.getresponse()
+            content_type = resp.getheader('content-type')
+            self.assertIn('text/html', content_type)
+
+    def test_networked_good_cert(self):
+        # We feed the server's cert as a validating cert
+        import ssl
+        test_support.requires('network')
+        with test_support.transient_internet('self-signed.pythontest.net'):
+            context = ssl.SSLContext(ssl.PROTOCOL_TLSv1)
+            context.verify_mode = ssl.CERT_REQUIRED
+            context.load_verify_locations(CERT_selfsigned_pythontestdotnet)
+            h = httplib.HTTPSConnection('self-signed.pythontest.net', 443, context=context)
+            h.request('GET', '/')
+            resp = h.getresponse()
+            server_string = resp.getheader('server')
+            self.assertIn('nginx', server_string)
+
+    def test_networked_bad_cert(self):
+        # We feed a "CA" cert that is unrelated to the server's cert
+        import ssl
+        test_support.requires('network')
+        with test_support.transient_internet('self-signed.pythontest.net'):
+            context = ssl.SSLContext(ssl.PROTOCOL_TLSv1)
+            context.verify_mode = ssl.CERT_REQUIRED
+            context.load_verify_locations(CERT_localhost)
+            h = httplib.HTTPSConnection('self-signed.pythontest.net', 443, context=context)
+            with self.assertRaises(ssl.SSLError) as exc_info:
+                h.request('GET', '/')
+            self.assertEqual(exc_info.exception.reason, 'CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED')
+
+    def test_local_unknown_cert(self):
+        # The custom cert isn't known to the default trust bundle
+        import ssl
+        server = self.make_server(CERT_localhost)
+        h = httplib.HTTPSConnection('localhost', server.port)
+        with self.assertRaises(ssl.SSLError) as exc_info:
+            h.request('GET', '/')
+        self.assertEqual(exc_info.exception.reason, 'CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED')
+
+    def test_local_good_hostname(self):
+        # The (valid) cert validates the HTTP hostname
+        import ssl
+        server = self.make_server(CERT_localhost)
+        context = ssl.SSLContext(ssl.PROTOCOL_TLSv1)
+        context.verify_mode = ssl.CERT_REQUIRED
+        context.load_verify_locations(CERT_localhost)
+        h = httplib.HTTPSConnection('localhost', server.port, context=context)
+        h.request('GET', '/nonexistent')
+        resp = h.getresponse()
+        self.assertEqual(resp.status, 404)
+
+    def test_local_bad_hostname(self):
+        # The (valid) cert doesn't validate the HTTP hostname
+        import ssl
+        server = self.make_server(CERT_fakehostname)
+        context = ssl.SSLContext(ssl.PROTOCOL_TLSv1)
+        context.verify_mode = ssl.CERT_REQUIRED
+        context.load_verify_locations(CERT_fakehostname)
+        h = httplib.HTTPSConnection('localhost', server.port, context=context)
+        with self.assertRaises(ssl.CertificateError):
+            h.request('GET', '/')
+        # Same with explicit check_hostname=True
+        h = httplib.HTTPSConnection('localhost', server.port, context=context,
+                                   check_hostname=True)
+        with self.assertRaises(ssl.CertificateError):
+            h.request('GET', '/')
+        # With check_hostname=False, the mismatching is ignored
+        h = httplib.HTTPSConnection('localhost', server.port, context=context,
+                                   check_hostname=False)
+        h.request('GET', '/nonexistent')
+        resp = h.getresponse()
+        self.assertEqual(resp.status, 404)
+
     def test_host_port(self):
         # Check invalid host_port
 
-        # Note that httplib does not accept user:password@ in the host-port.
         for hp in ("www.python.org:abc", "user:password@www.python.org"):
-            self.assertRaises(httplib.InvalidURL, httplib.HTTP, hp)
+            self.assertRaises(httplib.InvalidURL, httplib.HTTPSConnection, hp)
 
-        for hp, h, p in (("[fe80::207:e9ff:fe9b]:8000", "fe80::207:e9ff:fe9b",
-                          8000),
-                         ("pypi.python.org:443", "pypi.python.org", 443),
-                         ("pypi.python.org", "pypi.python.org", 443),
-                         ("pypi.python.org:", "pypi.python.org", 443),
-                         ("[fe80::207:e9ff:fe9b]", "fe80::207:e9ff:fe9b", 443)):
-            http = httplib.HTTPS(hp)
-            c = http._conn
-            if h != c.host:
-                self.fail("Host incorrectly parsed: %s != %s" % (h, c.host))
-            if p != c.port:
-                self.fail("Port incorrectly parsed: %s != %s" % (p, c.host))
+        for hp, h, p in (("[fe80::207:e9ff:fe9b]:8000",
+                          "fe80::207:e9ff:fe9b", 8000),
+                         ("www.python.org:443", "www.python.org", 443),
+                         ("www.python.org:", "www.python.org", 443),
+                         ("www.python.org", "www.python.org", 443),
+                         ("[fe80::207:e9ff:fe9b]", "fe80::207:e9ff:fe9b", 443),
+                         ("[fe80::207:e9ff:fe9b]:", "fe80::207:e9ff:fe9b",
+                             443)):
+            c = httplib.HTTPSConnection(hp)
+            self.assertEqual(h, c.host)
+            self.assertEqual(p, c.port)
 
 
 class TunnelTests(TestCase):
@@ -577,9 +690,10 @@
         self.assertTrue('Host: destination.com' in conn.sock.data)
 
 
+@test_support.reap_threads
 def test_main(verbose=None):
     test_support.run_unittest(HeaderTests, OfflineTest, BasicTest, TimeoutTest,
-                              HTTPSTimeoutTest, SourceAddressTest, TunnelTests)
+                              HTTPSTest, SourceAddressTest, TunnelTests)
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':
     test_main()
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_ssl.py b/Lib/test/test_ssl.py
index 0c9e24d..36a195e 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_ssl.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_ssl.py
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 import errno
 import pprint
 import tempfile
-import urllib
+import urllib2
 import traceback
 import weakref
 import platform
@@ -2388,10 +2388,11 @@
                 d1 = f.read()
             d2 = ''
             # now fetch the same data from the HTTPS server
-            url = 'https://%s:%d/%s' % (
-                HOST, server.port, os.path.split(CERTFILE)[1])
+            url = 'https://localhost:%d/%s' % (
+                server.port, os.path.split(CERTFILE)[1])
+            context = ssl.create_default_context(cafile=CERTFILE)
             with support.check_py3k_warnings():
-                f = urllib.urlopen(url)
+                f = urllib2.urlopen(url, context=context)
             try:
                 dlen = f.info().getheader("content-length")
                 if dlen and (int(dlen) > 0):
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_urllib2.py b/Lib/test/test_urllib2.py
index 39a0132..5b2c708 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_urllib2.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_urllib2.py
@@ -8,6 +8,11 @@
 import urllib2
 from urllib2 import Request, OpenerDirector
 
+try:
+    import ssl
+except ImportError:
+    ssl = None
+
 # XXX
 # Request
 # CacheFTPHandler (hard to write)
@@ -47,6 +52,14 @@
         for string, list in tests:
             self.assertEqual(urllib2.parse_http_list(string), list)
 
+    @unittest.skipUnless(ssl, "ssl module required")
+    def test_cafile_and_context(self):
+        context = ssl.create_default_context()
+        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+            urllib2.urlopen(
+                "https://localhost", cafile="/nonexistent/path", context=context
+            )
+
 
 def test_request_headers_dict():
     """
diff --git a/Lib/test/test_urllib2_localnet.py b/Lib/test/test_urllib2_localnet.py
index bf1ae43..8fc90af 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_urllib2_localnet.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_urllib2_localnet.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import os
 import base64
 import urlparse
 import urllib2
@@ -10,6 +11,17 @@
 mimetools = test_support.import_module('mimetools', deprecated=True)
 threading = test_support.import_module('threading')
 
+try:
+    import ssl
+except ImportError:
+    ssl = None
+
+here = os.path.dirname(__file__)
+# Self-signed cert file for 'localhost'
+CERT_localhost = os.path.join(here, 'keycert.pem')
+# Self-signed cert file for 'fakehostname'
+CERT_fakehostname = os.path.join(here, 'keycert2.pem')
+
 # Loopback http server infrastructure
 
 class LoopbackHttpServer(BaseHTTPServer.HTTPServer):
@@ -24,7 +36,7 @@
 
         # Set the timeout of our listening socket really low so
         # that we can stop the server easily.
-        self.socket.settimeout(1.0)
+        self.socket.settimeout(0.1)
 
     def get_request(self):
         """BaseHTTPServer method, overridden."""
@@ -433,6 +445,19 @@
         urllib2.install_opener(opener)
         super(TestUrlopen, self).setUp()
 
+    def urlopen(self, url, data=None, **kwargs):
+        l = []
+        f = urllib2.urlopen(url, data, **kwargs)
+        try:
+            # Exercise various methods
+            l.extend(f.readlines(200))
+            l.append(f.readline())
+            l.append(f.read(1024))
+            l.append(f.read())
+        finally:
+            f.close()
+        return b"".join(l)
+
     def start_server(self, responses):
         handler = GetRequestHandler(responses)
 
@@ -443,6 +468,16 @@
         handler.port = port
         return handler
 
+    def start_https_server(self, responses=None, **kwargs):
+        if not hasattr(urllib2, 'HTTPSHandler'):
+            self.skipTest('ssl support required')
+        from test.ssl_servers import make_https_server
+        if responses is None:
+            responses = [(200, [], b"we care a bit")]
+        handler = GetRequestHandler(responses)
+        server = make_https_server(self, handler_class=handler, **kwargs)
+        handler.port = server.port
+        return handler
 
     def test_redirection(self):
         expected_response = 'We got here...'
@@ -513,6 +548,28 @@
         finally:
             self.server.stop()
 
+    def test_https(self):
+        handler = self.start_https_server()
+        context = ssl.create_default_context(cafile=CERT_localhost)
+        data = self.urlopen("https://localhost:%s/bizarre" % handler.port, context=context)
+        self.assertEqual(data, b"we care a bit")
+
+    def test_https_with_cafile(self):
+        handler = self.start_https_server(certfile=CERT_localhost)
+        import ssl
+        # Good cert
+        data = self.urlopen("https://localhost:%s/bizarre" % handler.port,
+                            cafile=CERT_localhost)
+        self.assertEqual(data, b"we care a bit")
+        # Bad cert
+        with self.assertRaises(urllib2.URLError) as cm:
+            self.urlopen("https://localhost:%s/bizarre" % handler.port,
+                         cafile=CERT_fakehostname)
+        # Good cert, but mismatching hostname
+        handler = self.start_https_server(certfile=CERT_fakehostname)
+        with self.assertRaises(ssl.CertificateError) as cm:
+            self.urlopen("https://localhost:%s/bizarre" % handler.port,
+                         cafile=CERT_fakehostname)
 
     def test_sending_headers(self):
         handler = self.start_server([(200, [], "we don't care")])
diff --git a/Lib/urllib2.py b/Lib/urllib2.py
index 10051ff..78b08fc 100644
--- a/Lib/urllib2.py
+++ b/Lib/urllib2.py
@@ -109,6 +109,14 @@
 except ImportError:
     from StringIO import StringIO
 
+# check for SSL
+try:
+    import ssl
+except ImportError:
+    _have_ssl = False
+else:
+    _have_ssl = True
+
 from urllib import (unwrap, unquote, splittype, splithost, quote,
      addinfourl, splitport, splittag, toBytes,
      splitattr, ftpwrapper, splituser, splitpasswd, splitvalue)
@@ -120,11 +128,30 @@
 __version__ = sys.version[:3]
 
 _opener = None
-def urlopen(url, data=None, timeout=socket._GLOBAL_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT):
+def urlopen(url, data=None, timeout=socket._GLOBAL_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT,
+            cafile=None, capath=None, cadefault=False, context=None):
     global _opener
-    if _opener is None:
-        _opener = build_opener()
-    return _opener.open(url, data, timeout)
+    if cafile or capath or cadefault:
+        if context is not None:
+            raise ValueError(
+                "You can't pass both context and any of cafile, capath, and "
+                "cadefault"
+            )
+        if not _have_ssl:
+            raise ValueError('SSL support not available')
+        context = ssl._create_stdlib_context(cert_reqs=ssl.CERT_REQUIRED,
+                                             cafile=cafile,
+                                             capath=capath)
+        https_handler = HTTPSHandler(context=context, check_hostname=True)
+        opener = build_opener(https_handler)
+    elif context:
+        https_handler = HTTPSHandler(context=context)
+        opener = build_opener(https_handler)
+    elif _opener is None:
+        _opener = opener = build_opener()
+    else:
+        opener = _opener
+    return opener.open(url, data, timeout)
 
 def install_opener(opener):
     global _opener
@@ -1121,7 +1148,7 @@
 
         return request
 
-    def do_open(self, http_class, req):
+    def do_open(self, http_class, req, **http_conn_args):
         """Return an addinfourl object for the request, using http_class.
 
         http_class must implement the HTTPConnection API from httplib.
@@ -1135,7 +1162,8 @@
         if not host:
             raise URLError('no host given')
 
-        h = http_class(host, timeout=req.timeout) # will parse host:port
+        # will parse host:port
+        h = http_class(host, timeout=req.timeout, **http_conn_args)
         h.set_debuglevel(self._debuglevel)
 
         headers = dict(req.unredirected_hdrs)
@@ -1203,8 +1231,14 @@
 if hasattr(httplib, 'HTTPS'):
     class HTTPSHandler(AbstractHTTPHandler):
 
+        def __init__(self, debuglevel=0, context=None, check_hostname=None):
+            AbstractHTTPHandler.__init__(self, debuglevel)
+            self._context = context
+            self._check_hostname = check_hostname
+
         def https_open(self, req):
-            return self.do_open(httplib.HTTPSConnection, req)
+            return self.do_open(httplib.HTTPSConnection, req,
+                context=self._context, check_hostname=self._check_hostname)
 
         https_request = AbstractHTTPHandler.do_request_
 
diff --git a/Misc/NEWS b/Misc/NEWS
index ea649be..bca90b6 100644
--- a/Misc/NEWS
+++ b/Misc/NEWS
@@ -42,6 +42,11 @@
 Library
 -------
 
+- Issue #9003 and #22366: httplib.HTTPSConnection, urllib2.HTTPSHandler and
+  urllib2.urlopen now take optional arguments to allow for server certificate
+  checking, as recommended in public uses of HTTPS. This backport is part of PEP
+  467.
+
 - Issue #12728: Different Unicode characters having the same uppercase but
   different lowercase are now matched in case-insensitive regular expressions.