Repealing the Comstock Act — the Victorian-era anti-vice law that anti-abortion lobbyists aim to use to ban abortion nationwide, even in states where abortion rights are protected — has just turned from an urgent question to an absolute necessity. And it’s all thanks to the Supreme Court.
Oral arguments at the court Tuesday morning suggested the court was likely to side with the White House in its appeal of lower court rulings restricting access to the abortion medication mifepristone. But anti-abortion Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas made clear that they are deeply interested in Comstock’s anti-abortion applications. Both justices invoked the “zombie” law — which has not been meaningfully enforced in decades — by name and speculated on its application in blocking the distribution of mifepristone by mail.
Democrats cannot and should not wait for a pro-Comstock ruling from the justices to act.
The right’s Comstock plan is not theoretical. It’s an explicit component of Project 2025, the sweeping hyper-conservative, right-wing Christian playbook ready for a second Trump administration to take up on Day 1. In light of this, it’s time for Democrats to put “Restore Roe” on the back burner and instead make repealing Comstock their top priority in the fight to defend and preserve abortion access across the country. The strategy has all kinds of advantages. Top among them is rightfully positioning Democrats as the party of progress, solidifying their role not just as defenders of reproductive rights but also as boldly aggressive champions for bodily autonomy, LGBTQ rights and free speech in general, all of which are threatened by the imminent resurrection of Comstock.
Even before this week, Some Democrats had already floated the idea of going after Comstock. Most notably, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts told Jezebel this month that “if” the Supreme Court permits Comstock enforcement around mailing abortion medications in its…
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