- Date:
- 1873
Comstock Act
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What was the Comstock Act?
The Comstock Act, passed in 1873, was a U.S. federal law targeting trade and circulation of obscene materials and articles for immoral use. Named after anti-obscenity crusader Anthony Comstock, the act criminalized using postal services to send anything considered "obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy or vile". This included items related to abortion or contraception, such as devices, medications, or information about them. Violators faced imprisonment and fines. Though parts were repealed, notably regarding contraception in 1971, the Comstock Act's vestiges remained into the late 20th century. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, some called for its renewed application to prevent mailing abortion medication.
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When was the Comstock Act passed and who was it named after?
The Comstock Act, a federal statute addressing obscenity and immoral materials, was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1873. Formally titled as an "Act of the Suppression of Trade in, and Circulation of, Obscene Literature and Articles of Immoral Use," it was named for Anthony Comstock, a zealous crusader against what he considered to be obscenity. He successfully lobbied for the enactment of the law that criminalized the use of the post office to send obscene material, devices for abortion, or any information about contraception.
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What kinds of materials did the Comstock Act make illegal to send through the mail?
The Comstock Act, passed in 1873, criminalized sending through the mail any "obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy or vile article, matter, thing, device, or substance" or any "article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral use".
This effectively prohibited sending any text or image considered obscene or pornographic, as well as any device, medication, or information about them, that could facilitate abortion or contraception.
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Who was Anthony Comstock and what role did he play in enforcing this law?
Anthony Comstock (1844-1915) was a zealous American reformer who crusaded against obscenity in literature and other forms of expression for over 40 years. In 1873, he successfully lobbied for the Comstock Act, a federal statute that criminalized the transportation of obscene material through the mail. From 1873 until his death, Comstock served as a special agent of the U.S. Post Office Department, attacking commercial pornography rather than serious writing. He also founded the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice in 1873.
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How did the Comstock Act affect access to information about birth control and contraception?
The Comstock Act of 1873 criminalized the distribution of anything considered "obscene" through the U.S. Postal Service. This included materials related to contraception and abortion, such as devices, medication, or information about them.
The act made it illegal to send any text or image considered obscene or pornographic, along with anything related to abortion or contraception. Violators faced harsh penalties: up to five years of imprisonment and a $2,000 fine.
The Comstock Act significantly impacted Margaret Sanger's work and the birth control movement by classifying contraception information as obscene. This restricted the ability of doctors to provide advice and for people to access contraception.
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How has the Comstock Act influenced later laws or court cases about privacy and free speech?
The Comstock Act of 1873, named for Anthony Comstock, criminalized sending via post any "obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy or vile article" or anything "for producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral use".
Vestiges of the Comstock Act remained law until the late 20th century. In 1971, Congress removed the provisions concerning contraception. The Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 recognized abortion as a constitutional right, rendering the Comstock Act dormant.
In 2022, after Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, some activists called for its renewed application to prevent people from receiving mifepristone by mail. In 2023, a federal court suspended the FDA's approval of mifepristone, citing the Comstock Act, but in June 2024, the Supreme Court reversed this decision in Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, arguing the plaintiffs lacked the standing to sue.
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Comstock Act, federal statute passed by the U.S. Congress in 1873 as an “Act of the Suppression of Trade in, and Circulation of, Obscene Literature and Articles of Immoral Use.”
Named for Anthony Comstock, a zealous crusader against what he considered to be obscenity, the act criminalized the use of any post office to send, among other things, any “obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy or vile article, matter, thing, device, or substance” or any “article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral use.” The law effectively prohibited the sending of any text or image then considered to be obscene or pornographic as well as any device or medication, or any information about such a device or medication, that could facilitate or result in abortion or contraception. Individuals convicted of violating the Comstock Act could receive up to five years of imprisonment with hard labor and a fine of up to $2,000.
Vestiges of the act endured as the law of the land into the late 20th century. In 1971 Congress removed the law’s provisions concerning contraception. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade (1973), which recognized a constitutional right to abortion through the second trimester of pregnancy, the Comstock Act remained in force but was effectively dormant.
In 2000 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved medication abortion by means of the drug mifepristone, which causes the lining of the uterus to deteriorate, in combination with misoprostol, which induces uterine contractions. From 2016 to 2021 the FDA adopted a series of measures to make mifepristone accessible to more patients. The combined changes extended the period during which the drug could be used from the first 7 to the first 10 weeks of pregnancy and effectively permitted the drug to be mailed to patients after a telehealth appointment with a nonphysician via a computer or mobile phone.
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022 (see Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization), several states adopted laws restricting or banning most abortions, and some antiabortion activists called for a renewed application of the Comstock Act to prevent people from receiving mifepristone by mail. In April 2023 a federal district court in Texas issued an order suspending the FDA’s initial approval of mifepristone in 2000 and the later measures easing restrictions on its use. The district court also held that the FDA’s decision effectively allowing patients to receive mifepristone by mail was prohibited under the Comstock Act. In August the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that mifepristone should remain available to patients seeking abortion but only under the FDA’s original restrictions. Four months later the Supreme Court agreed to review the Fifth Circuit’s decision. Although oral arguments in the case, Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, heard in March 2024, primarily concerned whether the original plaintiffs possessed standing to sue (a legal right to challenge) the FDA. In June, the Court unanimously reversed the Fifth’s Circuit’s decision, holding that “a plaintiff’s desire to make a drug less available for others does not establish standing to sue.”