I went down a rabbit hole trying to understand this “Comstock Zombie Law” so I thought, why not share? It’s a little history, sprinkled with vocab and current events.
Why does it matter? First, a little history.
This set of laws was enacted in 1873 by Anthony Comstack, an old white anti-vice crusader who was obsessed with obscenity. Officially, it was the “Act for the Suppression of Trade in, and Circulation of, Obscene Literature and Articles of Immoral Use”.
Among the “Articles of Immoral Use” and “Obscene Literature” were abortion and birth control information and devices. The Act made using the US postal system to distribute these materials illegal. This man effectively made birth control a crime. Comstock believed these healthcare essentials led to lewd, lascivious, indecent acts (like sex).
Dude, YOU are Lewd!
Think about it. Birth control to help women avoid unwanted pregnancies caused these types of behaviors:
- Lewd: Crude and offensive in a sexual way.
- Lascivious (/ləˈsivēəs/): Feeling or revealing an overt and often offensive sexual desire.
Comstock believed that women who sought out birth control were lewd and lascivious.
He was not against reproductive health because of the right-to-life concerns, he was focused on obscene behavior. As my Aunt Norma always says: me thinks thou dost protest too much, Comstock!
Dude, I think you may be lewd. And definitely lascivious. You spent way too much time thinking about other people having sex.
Beware of the lewd and lascivious! (But that's not the real danger.)
Forty years later, in 1916, Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in New York. It was a new century, a new era. Suffragettes were fighting for women’s equality. Although Comstock died in 1915, there were plenty of righteous vice suppressors to carry on the work. Using the Comstock Act, the clinic was shut down.
There are other dangerous tenets in the Act. Censorship targeting “Obscene Literature” can be used to limit information and cease mailing reproductive medications.
Over the past 100 years court challenges and laws have rendered Comstock unconstitutional, outdated, and basically useless. But it was never officially repealed.
Zoom up to Today
This zombie law is lying in wait to rear its ugliness again. After a series of recent changes to some of the hard-fought protective laws, including the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade, Comstock is ready to rise.
These ultra-righters tell us that abortion is a state-level issue (the same as was pushed for slavery) while they have tipped their hand saying the quiet part out loud. Judges Alito and Thomas have already hinted that the Comstock Act could be applied to enforce a national ban on the FDA-approved abortion pill mifepristone.
And it doesn’t stop there. Next up, it could be used to nationally censor other “obscene literature” banning books, plays, drag shows, and anything that they deem to be lewd, lascivious, and immoral.
Many are working to combat this. Johns Hopkins has penned articles on its website citing the danger to women’s health. U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and 14 of their Senate colleagues have introduced a bill to repeal the zombie law.
How do you kill a zombie? Chop off the head.
The most effective action is to VOTE for reproductive rights candidates. Take away their power via your vote.
It is stunning how many women voted to uphold abortion rights in their state but voted for national candidates who oppose reproductive health rights for women.
“If given the power, anti-choice Republicans have made it clear that they will use this 150-year-old law to enact a national abortion ban without Congress or the American people’s approval,” said Senator Cortez Masto.
Since this law is still on the books, it would be simple to use it as the foundation for a national abortion ban. Goodbye state-level statutes and rights.
Take action! Contact your representatives and tell them to support the Stop Comstock Act. Together we can finally cut off the ugly head that many are planning to use to outlaw mifepristone and control women’s reproductive rights.
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