Anti-abortion lawmakers are trying to turn the Comstock Act, an 1873 anti-vice law, into a nationwide abortion ban.
The Comstock Act is a 19th-century law originally designed to ban the mailing of “obscene” materials—including anything related to contraception or abortion. Today, anti-abortion activists seek to use the law as a weapon in the modern fight against reproductive rights.
After Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade, lawmakers argued that the Comstock Act prohibits mailing abortion pills even to states where abortion remains legal. If they succeed, medical abortion could be blocked in all 50 states—even where voters and lawmakers have explicitly chosen to protect access.
The fight over Comstock comes down to whether we should use outdated laws to control modern medicine and restrict bodily autonomy. To understand this battle, we need to examine the history of the Comstock Act, its modern revival, and what’s at stake if courts and lawmakers enforce it today.
What Is the Comstock Act?
The Comstock Act of 1873 was named after Anthony Comstock, a self-proclaimed moral crusader who dedicated his life to criminalizing what he viewed as vice and obscenity.
His targets included contraceptive materials, abortion-related information, medical textbooks, and even anatomy guides. He lobbied for strict censorship laws, leading to a sweeping federal ban on sending anything lawmakers considered objectionable through the mail—including educational resources on reproductive health.
As a postal inspector, Comstock took it upon himself to police the nation’s mail, seizing and destroying what he considered immoral content. His campaign of censorship resulted in the destruction of an estimated 160 tons of books, pamphlets, and images—including medical literature that doctors and patients relied on for reproductive health education. Later in life, he influenced a young law student named J. Edgar Hoover.
He also took pride in the personal toll of his crusade. Comstock’s actions caused at least 15 people to die by suicide following his prosecution.
“I am sure the world is better off without them,” he wrote.
Over time, courts weakened Comstock’s power. By the mid-20th century, legal decisions had narrowed its scope, and the law fell into disuse. But today, anti-abortion groups are reviving Comstock in an attempt to ban abortion pills nationwide—turning this censorship law into a tool for controlling reproductive rights.
Why Is the Comstock Act Relevant Again?
After the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade, anti-abortion groups dusted off the Comstock Act, claiming that it covered anything intended for producing abortion. These groups argue that the outdated law prohibits mailing medication used in abortion care. This would include states where abortion remains legal.
In Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, anti-abortion activists challenged the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, arguing that the agency should revoke its authorization of the drug. In April 2023, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, issuing a preliminary injunction that would have blocked access to mifepristone nationwide.
In June 2024, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the plaintiffs lacked standing, effectively rejecting the lawsuit and preserving nationwide access to mifepristone. Following this ruling, anti-abortion groups dropped their legal challenge, but three Republican-led states—Idaho, Missouri, and Kansas—filed a separate lawsuit arguing that the Comstock Act prohibits mailing abortion pills.
The Act’s Impact on Medication Abortion
According to the Guttmacher Institute, medication abortion accounts for 63% of all abortions in the U.S. It’s safe, effective, and allows patients to end pregnancies privately at home. But anti-abortion extremists see that privacy and accessibility as a threat, which is exactly why they’re using Comstock to try and block abortion pills from being mailed at all.
In places where abortion clinics have shut down, telemedicine and mail-order medication are lifelines—especially for Black, Indigenous, low-income, and rural communities, who already face the greatest barriers to reproductive care. The American Academy of Family Physicians confirms these medications are safe and widely used in miscarriage management as well.
If Comstock is enforced, medication abortion could disappear—not through new laws, but through an outdated statute written during a time when my ancestors were not considered people. Patients would lose access overnight. Clinics in states that still protect abortion would face an even greater influx of out-of-state patients. This would overwhelm providers and force even longer wait times for care.
Who’s Behind the Push to Resurrect Comstock?
The push to enforce Comstock comes from the same forces that overturned Roe. Anti-abortion legal groups, including the Alliance Defending Freedom, are using the law as a backdoor attempt at a nationwide abortion ban. The group represented the plaintiffs in the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Their allies include far-right judges eager to legislate from the bench and politicians who see Comstock as a way to criminalize abortion without passing new laws.
The Path Forward: How We Fight Back
The Comstock Act was a relic of a time when women had no rights and Black people were considered owned property. We cannot allow extremists to use a 19th-century law to erase 21st-century rights.
Here’s what we can do:
- Support Pro-Abortion Policies and Candidates: Anti-abortion politicians are counting on the public to be distracted while they push Comstock enforcement in the courts.
- Shield Laws for Telemedicine Access: States that protect abortion must ensure access to medication abortion, defend providers who mail pills, and resist legal challenges.
- Educate the Public: Many people don’t realize Comstock could be used to ban abortion nationwide. We must expose these efforts and make it clear what’s at stake.
- Challenge Comstock in the Courts: Legal advocacy groups like the American Civil Liberties Union are challenging the Comstock Act.
Keep the Fight Against Comstock Alive
Anti-abortion extremists aren’t waiting for new laws. They’re using old ones to strip away access. The renewed push to enforce the Comstock Act is happening right now, and the consequences are already being felt:
- Texas sued a New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills via telemedicine, challenging states that have enacted laws to shield providers. If Texas succeeds, states that protect abortion could lose their ability to provide care across state lines.
- New York passed a law allowing doctors to omit their names from abortion prescriptions to shield them from prosecution in anti-abortion states—because threats against providers are escalating.
- Lawmakers in Texas and New Hampshire have introduced new proposals to criminalize discussing how to obtain abortion pills or travel for care, an attempt to shut down information networks.
The Comstock Act could ban medication abortion across all 50 states without Congress passing a single new law. It’s the next front in the fight for abortion rights. The only question is whether we’re ready to stop it.
