Dear MoveOn member,
Hawaii is the latest state to consider stockpiling medication abortion drugs—following the lead of places like Oregon, California, and New York—amid rising concerns that the Trump administration will work to revive the Comstock Act, essentially banning abortion across the nation.1 The Comstock Act is a 150-year-old, outdated, dangerous law that could potentially make it illegal to mail abortion medication and equipment used to perform abortions.2
Enforcing the Comstock Act was a strategy outlined in Project 2025, a far-right blueprint that the Trump administration has wasted no time implementing.3 And Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have also cited the law, raising the stakes even more.4 Anti-abortion extremists will use the courts, legislation, and any power grab they can to stop people from getting the reproductive health care they deserve—but we can fight back.
U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Tina Smith reintroduced the Stop Comstock Act, which would repeal the Comstock Act and stop MAGA Republicans from weaponizing this law to block abortion care.5
Will you add your name to the petition and urge members of Congress to pass the Stop Comstock Act NOW?
From overturning Roe v. Wade to attacks on IVF and threats to take away FDA approval of mifepristone, the right wing will stop at nothing to implement a nationwide abortion ban.
The Comstock Act declares "every article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion" to be "nonmailable."6 Medication abortion accounted for 63% of all abortion care in 2023.7 And enforcing the outdated and cruel law would restrict millions of people from getting the crucial health care they need. Add your name to demand that the Comstock Act be repealed now!
Donald Trump has tried time and time again to prevent the public from finding out his real stance on abortion. But we know the truth: Trump is proud of his role in overturning Roe v. Wade, and he's surrounded himself with anti-abortion extremists who will use their power to threaten abortion access nationwide.8
Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, who is responsible for enforcing federal laws, has a history of supporting anti-abortion laws. Her confirmation is a serious threat to abortion access—she could enforce the Comstock Act at any moment to stop the shipment of abortion medication and equipment.9
Republicans have spent years undermining and chipping away at abortion access, pushing it out of reach for far too many by imposing financial, logistical, and legal barriers.10 Now the right to access safe and legal abortion care is on the line for millions, with an anti-abortion attorney general overseeing the Department of Justice. That is why we have to come together to spread the word about these dangerous threats to our reproductive rights and demand that those in power take action NOW to stop these extremists from using the Comstock Act, before it's too late.
Sign the petition now to demand that the Comstock Act be repealed, and share with three friends!
Thanks for all you do.
–Alexis, Nadia, Justin, Joel, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "States Prepare for Threats to Abortion Access by Stockpiling Mifepristone and Misoprostol," Center for American Progress, December 19, 2024
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/states-prepare-for-threats-to-abortion-access-by-stockpiling-mifepristone-and-misoprostol/
2. "Anti-Abortion Extremists Want to Use the 150-Year-Old Comstock Act to Ban Abortion Nationwide," ACLU, May 30, 2024
https://www.aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/anti-abortion-extremists-want-to-use-the-150-year-old-comstock-act-to-ban-abortion-nationwide
3. "Cortez Masto, Smith Reintroduce Legislation to Repeal the Comstock Act," Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, March 14, 2025
https://www.cortezmasto.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cortez-masto-smith-reintroduce-legislation-to-repeal-the-comstock-act/
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. "The Comstock Act: Implications for Abortion Care Nationwide," KFF, April 15, 2024
https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/the-comstock-act-implications-for-abortion-care-nationwide/
7. "Medication Abortion Accounted for 63% of All US Abortions in 2023—An Increase from 53% in 2020," Guttmacher Institute, March 2024
https://www.guttmacher.org/2024/03/medication-abortion-accounted-63-all-us-abortions-2023-increase-53-2020
8. "Trump has flip-flopped on abortion policy. His appointees may offer clues to what happens next," AP News, December 9, 2024
https://apnews.com/article/abortion-trump-cabinet-medication-comstock-act-7faace8a458d637d31d34dfe1f8ab47b
9. Ibid.
10. "Abortion Out of Reach: The Exacerbation of Wealth Disparities After Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization," Guttmacher Institute, January 2023
https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2023/01/abortion-out-reach-exacerbation-wealth-disparities-after-dobbs-v-jackson-womens
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