comstock act

Packages of mifepristone tablets are displayed at a family planning clinic on April 13, 2023 in Rockville, Md.

Politics & Government

Why anti-abortion advocates are reviving a 19th century sexual purity law

4:11pm April 10, 2024

by Danielle Kurtzleben

The Comstock Act is the latest front in the fight over reproductive rights. Here's what you need to know about the 1873 law and the consequences if it's enforced the way some conservatives would like.

Boxes containing doses of the abortion pill mifepristone are laid out at the Hope Clinic in Illinois. The Comstock Act of 1873, which outlawed the distribution of "obscene" materials such as contraception, is being cited as a basis for blocking the mailing of mifepristone.

National
Health & Safety
Politics & Government

Why anti-abortion groups are citing the ideas of a 19th-century 'vice reformer'

10:51am April 18, 2023

by Sarah McCammon

Anthony Comstock pushed Congress to crack down on what he saw as harmful vices, such as pornography and contraception. An 1873 law named for him has appeared in recent court battles over abortion.