{"id":2273140,"date":"2024-06-21T03:13:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-21T07:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-make-election-year-push-to-undo-ban-on-mailed-abortion-pills\/"},"modified":"2024-06-21T03:18:18","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T07:18:18","slug":"democrats-make-election-year-push-to-undo-ban-on-mailed-abortion-pills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-make-election-year-push-to-undo-ban-on-mailed-abortion-pills\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats aim to lift mail ban on abortion pills during election year"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocrats-make-election-year-push-to-undo-ban-on-mailed-abortion-pills%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2273140&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Democrats are focusing on the \u200c1873 \u2062Comstock Act, which prohibits the mailing of abortion-related\u200c materials, amid \u200befforts \u2064to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/va-gov-youngkin-seeks-ban-on-most-abortions-at-15-weeks\/\" title=\"Va. Gov. Youngkin seeks ban on most abortions at 15 weeks\">safeguard abortion access<\/a>. Originally intended to block delivery of &#8220;obscene&#8221; materials including contraception and abortion items, it hasn&#8217;t\u2062 been enforced \u2062prominently for\u200d years. However, \u2064following \u200dthe reversal of Roe v.\u2062 Wade\u200c in 2022, fears have\u2063 arisen\u200d that\u2064 this\u200c act could be leveraged\u200d by future Republican administrations to further <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/south-carolina-to-become-latest-state-to-pass-heartbeat-bill\/\" title=\"South Carolina to Become Latest State to Pass Heartbeat Bill\">restrict abortion access<\/a>,\u200c especially concerning the\u2063 dissemination of abortion pills through \u200cmail. Democrats, including \u2062Sen.\u2064 Tina Smith and Rep. Pat \u200cRyan, are attempting to repeal\u200b the Act to prevent \u200cits potential misuse against abortion \u200brights. \u2063Meanwhile,\u200b conservative strategies such as the \u2062Heritage Foundation\u2019s Project \u20632025 suggest\u2063 using the Comstock Act to block abortion pills, indicating a\u200c division in approaches towards abortion \u200clegislation.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democrats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Democrats \">Democrats <\/a>are bringing an 1873 law that bans the mailing of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/abortion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Democrats \">abortion<\/a>-related materials into the spotlight as the party makes access to the procedure central to their election messaging.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Comstock_Act_of_1873\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"The Comstock Act \">The Comstock Act <\/a>was enacted to ban people from sending anything \u201cobscene, lewd or lascivious\u201d in the mail, including \u201cany article or thing designed or intended for the prevention of conception or procuring an abortion.\u201d Even though the act has laid dormant for decades, Democrats have warned that a future Republican president could use the law to shut down abortion access across the country. <\/p>\n<p>The Biden administration interprets the act as applying only to \u201cunlawful\u201d abortions, though conservatives have cited the law to argue against abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol in court.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), working in conjunction with Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) in the House, introduced a bill on Thursday that would repeal the Comstock Act, the latest attempt to put Republicans on defense on the issue.<\/p>\n<p>Over the last month, Democrats have held a series of votes in the Senate meant to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-democrats-pivot-to-2024-agenda-as-schumer-looks-to-protect-majority\/\" title=\"Schumer steers Senate Democrats towards 2024 goals to preserve majority\">bolster vulnerable incumbents<\/a>, including on contraception and in vitro fertilization. A vote to codify <em>Roe v. Wade<\/em> is also expected in July.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Comstock Act is a 150-year-old zombie law banning abortion that\u2019s long been relegated to the dustbin of history,\u201d Smith said in a statement. \u201cNow that Trump has overturned <em>Roe, <\/em>a future Republican administration could misapply this 150-year-old Comstock law to deny American women their rights, even in states where abortion rights are protected by state law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before <em>Roe<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2875629\/supreme-court-overturns-roe-v-wade-paving-way-for-state-abortion-bans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>  was overturned<\/a> by the Supreme Court in 2022, legal experts regarded the law as a dead letter since the court ruling had established a constitutional right to an abortion. However, after the high court\u2019s 2022 reversal, anti-abortion activists started to point to the Comstock Act as one possible avenue to restrict access further.<\/p>\n<p>Project 2025, a playbook from the conservative Heritage Foundation, released a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/24088042-project-2025s-mandate-for-leadership-the-conservative-promise\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>900-plus-page policy road map<\/a> called the \u201cMandate for Leadership,\u201d readymade for a Republican president to enact upon taking office. The group recommends a future conservative administration use the Comstock Act to block the mailing of abortion pills. <\/p>\n<p>Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, avoided taking a position on the law in an April <a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/6972022\/donald-trump-transcript-2024-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>interview<\/a> with <em>Time<\/em> magazine, but congressional Republicans recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/23\/23-235\/301819\/20240229110746147_23-235%20Amicus%20Brief%20of%20145%20Members%20of%20Congress%20in%20Support%20of%20Respondents%20and%20Affirmance.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"accused\">accused<\/a> the Food and Drug Administration of \u201cblatantly disregarding\u201d the Comstock Act in a \u201cfriend of the court\u201d brief on a Supreme Court case regarding mifepristone.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has generally sought to neutralize abortion as a political issue, announcing earlier this year that he does not support a nationwide ban on the procedure.<\/p>\n<p>As the abortion pill mifepristone continues to face legal challenges, the Comstock Act has been brought up during oral arguments by both conservative Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. However, the Supreme Court refused to consider a request by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/remember-when-media-freaked-out-over-amy-coney-barrett-and-the-right-wing-supreme-court\/\" title=\"Remember When Media Freaked Out Over Amy Coney Barrett And The Right Wing Supreme Court?\">anti-abortion groups<\/a> to impose nationwide restrictions in the mifepristone case.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not some obscure subsection of a complicated obscure law,\u201d Alito said during oral arguments, referring to Comstock as a \u201cprominent provision.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Democrats have used these and other comments to argue that Trump would use the law as a \u201cbackdoor\u201d way to limit abortion.<\/p>\n<p>As for Biden, his Justice Department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/olc\/opinion\/file\/1560596\/dl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>wrote<\/a> in December 2022 that the Comstock Act \u201cdoes not prohibit the mailing of certain drugs that can be used to perform abortions where the sender lacks the intent that the recipient of the drugs will use them unlawfully.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has yet to take a position on the bill. When asked about it by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/congress\/democrats-target-150-year-old-zombie-law-warning-gop-use-ban-abortion-rcna158046\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>NBC News<\/a> last week, he left open the possibility that the Senate takes a vote on it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe moved forward last week on contraception, this week on IVF, and you\u2019ll be hearing more from us on reproductive rights in the near future,\u201d Schumer said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democrats are highlighting the 1873 Comstock Act, which prohibits mailing abortion-related materials, as they focus on abortion access in their election campaign. Originally, the Act aimed to stop the distribution of &#8220;obscene, lewd, or lascivious&#8221; items through mail, encompassing anything associated with abortion<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2657,"featured_media":2273141,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP24124511229659-scaled-1024x683.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2273140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP24124511229659-scaled-1024x683.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2273140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2657"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2273140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2273140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2273141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2273140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2273140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2273140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}