The Comstock Act is a “zombie law”: Though long considered unconstitutional or unenforceable, it was never repealed and, with enough momentum, could be resuscitated and enforced. Interpreted literally, “it could essentially shut down abortion nationwide,” explains Joanne Rosen, JD, MA, a practice professor in Health Policy and Management and an expert in reproductive law. Read more … Read more
A Texas man is suing a California doctor over his girlfriend’s alleged abortion across state lines — the latest in a string of cases meant to test the laws that have helped people get care. Read more at 19th News
Wrongful death suit alleges that California doctor mailed the pills to Texas, where virtually all abortions are outlawed Read more at The Guardian
If passed and signed into law, the measure would introduce civil liabilities for distributors of abortion pills and create a civil liability for “the wrongful death of an unborn child” as a result of taking the medications — and empower the “biological father of the unborn child” to file those civil lawsuits. It would also … Read more
Under President Joe Biden, the Justice Department said it did not believe Comstock prohibited mailing these pills. But abortion opponents have been pressing the Trump administration to change that policy. The Supreme Court’s most conservative members, Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, have also expressed openness to that legal interpretation. That approach, too, could spark … Read more
If Bondi bites, as legal experts Imani Gandy and Jessica Mason Pieklo explained at Rewire News, that opens the door for a broad Christian nationalist agenda outlined in Project 2025 to terrorize people for providing birth control, sex toys, or even sex education materials. The document argues that prosecutors can revive the Comstock Act, a … Read more
Pronatalism requires that people who are able to carry pregnancies — mostly women — be pregnant for large periods of time. These pregnancies can have a major impact on women’s participation in the workforce and economic mobility. “Part of the language around pronatalism is language about gender roles, and the expectations of pronatalism is very … Read more
In an interview, Hawkins rejected the idea that Trump is more popular than the anti-abortion cause. (Fifty-four percent of Americans identify as “pro-choice”, while 41% say they are “pro-life”, according to recent Gallup polling.) While Trump has objected to signing a national abortion ban, Hawkins wants him to commit to defunding Planned Parenthood. She also … Read more
Still, once in office, Trump and his administration would have substantial power to further restrict abortion. And with Roe overturned, the avenues to do so are larger than they were last time. “There’s so many levers he could press,” said Greer Donley, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh who tracks abortion policy. Despite … Read more
The Texas lawsuit is part of a much broader antiabortion strategy that will unfold in the new year. Besides targeting telemedicine and pills, antiabortion groups plan to pursue anyone who aids or abets abortion — for example, internet service providers that allow websites to provide information about abortion pills and where to get them. Other … Read more
