HISTORY: Comstock Law of (1873) - Court, Materials, Abortion, and Women - JRank Articles
The AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION (AMA) voiced concern about abortion, not only because of the danger to women, but also because of the possibility of a woman overlooking the duties imposed on her by the marriage contract. The Catholic Church condemned abortion and BIRTH CONTROL as twin evils. States began enacting laws that made it more difficult to DIVORCE and gave single people greater incentive to marry.
In the middle of such local reform efforts in New York City was twenty-nine-year-old Anthony Comstock, head of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice (NYSSV). Established in 1872, the NYSSV was financed by some of the wealthiest and most influential New York philanthropists. Comstock used their money to lobby the New York State Legislature for laws criminalizing pre-marital sex and ADULTERY, among other moral vices. He also used their money to lobby Congress for a law that would implement his overall agenda.
In 1873 Comstock got his wish, when Congress passed An Act for the Suppression of Trade in, and Circulation of, Obscene Literature and Articles of Immoral Use. March 3, 1873, ch. 258, § 2, 17 Stat. 599. Known popularly as the Comstock Law, the statute’s avowed purpose was “to prevent the mails from being used to corrupt the public morals.” The Comstock Law made it a crime to sell or distribute materials that could be used for contraception or abortion, to send such materials or information about such materials in the federal mail system, or to import such materials from abroad. Immediately after the law was enacted, Comstock was appointed special agent of the U.S. Post Office and given the express power to enforce the statute. Comstock held this position for the next 42 years.
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