What was the Comstock Act of the 1870s? How does it relate to abortion pills in the United States?

What is the Comstock Act of the 1870s?

The Comstock Act was essentially a 19th-century anti-crime statute. Its goal was to prohibit the sending of any substance, drug, drug, or object that could promote abortion or any “lewd” writings. ” any. The law has become a key issue in a new court ruling that threatens access to a popular abortion drug in the United States.

The Comstock Act has been dormant for about 50 years, but now, several conservative states and some anti-abortion groups, intending to ban the mailing of a drug called mifepristone, have enacted the Comstock Act. success. This medication has been used in slightly more than half of all abortions in the United States.

A federal judge in the US state of Texas has shown his support for conservative Christians by saying that the Comstock Act prohibits mailing the drug in question.

Case

U.S. District Judge Mathew J. Kacsmaryk ruled in a recent case that the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug mifepristone about 20 years ago violated federal regulations. The judge said the Food and Drug Administration had not found “legitimate safety concerns” with the pill. The drug has been available since 2000.

As a result, mifepristone’s key drugmaker and the Biden administration filed a notice of appeal within hours of the decision.

The Washington state judge’s order and the Texas ruling were issued concurrently. The order states that in Democratic-led states that have filed separate lawsuits, the FDA must maintain access to the drug.

Kacsmaryk, a former attorney for the First Freedom Institute, has consistently used anti-abortion advocates’ terminology in his opinions. He referred to doctors who prescribe mifepristone by terms such as abortion doctors. He also used terms such as medical abortion as “chemical abortion” and fetus as “fetus”.

In the event the ruling is upheld, Kacsmaryk’s 67-page decision would overturn recent FDA changes aimed at making mifepristone more accessible.

Comstock Act

The original Comstock Act was passed in 1873. The act was named after an anti-crusader. The purpose of the Act was to prohibit the sending of contraceptives through the mail, along with preventing “lewd” writings and any “instruments, drugs, substances, medicines or anything else.” Can be used for abortion.

The scope of this law has been continually narrowed by Congress and the federal courts. These eliminated mention of contraceptives in the 1970s. According to legal experts, the federal government has not emphasized this law since the 1930s.

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Source: pagasa.edu.vn

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