The Stop Comstock Act Would Repeal 1873 Law that Could Be Misused to Ban Abortion Nationwide
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and 23 of their Senate colleagues reintroduced legislation to repeal the Comstock Act, an arcane 1873 law that anti-choice extremists have repeatedly invoked as a backdoor means to effectively ban abortion nationwide without a single act of Congress. In recent years, Comstock has been cited by Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas in the oral arguments of a case which threatened access to mifepristone – a drug commonly used in medication abortions.
The Comstock Act is a centerpiece of Project 2025, the blueprint that Donald Trump and his Administration are following, and if misused, this law would effectively end access to medication abortion nationwide. Donald Trump’s nominee to lead Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declined to acknowledge the settled science proving mifepristone’s safety and efficacy, signaling that access to medication abortion will continue to face threats under this Administration.
“Anti-choice Republicans have made it clear they want to use this 150-year-old law to enact a national abortion ban – even without the support of Congress or the American people,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “It’s time for Congress to act – we must repeal Comstock and protect women’s access to reproductive health care.”
The Comstock laws are a set of 1800s laws meant to ban the mailing or shipping of every obscene, lewd, or indecent article, matter, thing or device, with the goal of restricting abortion, contraceptives, and even love letters. An administration hostile to reproductive health care could willfully misapply these vague laws to impose a ban on abortion nationwide, even without any Congressional action.
The Stop Comstock Act would repeal language in the Comstock Laws that could be used by an anti-abortion administration to ban the mailing of mifepristone and other drugs used in medication abortions, instruments and equipment used in abortions, and educational material related to sexual health. Medication abortion is how nearly 60% of abortions take place in this country today. It is the most common form of abortion in the United States.
Senator Cortez Masto has been a fierce advocate for women’s reproductive rights. In response to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Cortez Masto introduced the Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act to ensure legal protections for women traveling across state lines to receive reproductive care. She’s championed the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would guarantee equal access to abortion everywhere. In the last Congress, the Senator also cosponsored legislation to codify the right to contraception and IVF.
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