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Hi John,
The Trump administration wants to create a backdoor federal abortion ban by weaponizing the Comstock Act—an archaic, 150-year old federal law that could be used to restrict the mailing of abortion pills.1 This ban would mean that people across the United States will be denied their rights to abortion, even in states where it remains legal.
Send a message to your legislators and demand that they support the Stop Comstock Act,2 and we’ll make sure your message reaches key lawmakers.
TAKE ACTION
The Comstock Act is an 1800s sexual purity law that bans the mailing, shipping, and delivery of anything deemed “obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy or vile,” originally adopted to restrict the mailing of pornography, contraceptives, and information about abortions.3 The Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade rendered the abortion restrictions under the Comstock Act irrelevant. But with Roe overturned4 and Trump’s increasingly fascist administration in power, Republican strategists and anti-abortion advocates are now pushing5 to use this outdated law for a backdoor federal abortion ban, particularly targeting medication abortion.6
Terrifyingly, the vague provisions of the Comstock Act could also be broadly interpreted to ban the shipping or mailing of other related items such as morning-after pills,7 medical equipment used in abortion care, and even educational/informational materials on abortion care and sexual health.8 It's essentially a tool the federal government can use to surveil and censor everyone’s mail, to ban anything it deems inappropriate or “obscene.” That makes this everyone’s fight.
Take action by sending this simple message to your legislators: I urge you to support the Stop Comstock Act and take a stand against censorship and attacks on reproductive rights.
SIGN THE PETITION
Thank you for lending a hand in this important fight.
In solidarity,
Alex at Fight for the Future
Footnotes
1. The Comstock Act - 18 U.S. Code § 1461/1462 - 18 U.S. Code § 1461 - Mailing obscene or crime-inciting matter | U.S. Code | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute
2. Stop Comstock Act - H.R. 8796 (118TH cONGRESS, 2D Session) - BILLS-118hr8796ih.pdf
3. Reuters - Kansas votes to preserve abortion rights in first post-Roe v. Wade election test | Reuters
4. TIME - https://time.com/6172956/consequences-overruling-roe-wade/
5. Project 2025 - 2025_MandateForLeadership_CHAPTER-14.pdf
6. Guttmacher Institute - https://www.guttmacher.org/2024/03/medication-abortion-accounted-63-all-us-abortions-2023-increase-53-2020
7. NPR - https://www.npr.org/2024/04/10/1243802678/abortion-comstock-act
8. Stop Comstock Act Explainer - https://ciosenus.app.box.com/s/lukg6iugfejff7lh3kvth7dkh5mdncuk
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