How conspiring doctors, questionable tonics, and twisted patriotism led to Arizona’s Civil War-era abortion ban the state legislature has finally repealed.
The future of abortion access in the United States may soon depend on how courts interpret a 150-year-old law that hadn’t been applied for nearly a century and whose author originally intended for some abortions to remain legal.
The Comstock Act, the signature work of a 19th-century anti-vice crusader, banned the mailing of “indecent” materials but also limited abortion access.
A major issue now before the Supreme Court of the United States derives from the beliefs and work of one man, Anthony Comstock. His goal, accomplished in 1873, was to
Anthony Comstock pushed Congress to crack down on what he saw as harmful vices, such as pornography and contraception. An 1873 law named for him has appeared in recent court battles over abortion.