The Stop Comstock Act aims to repeal portions of the Comstock Act, clarifying that only obscene materials are prohibited from being mailed or shipped interstate, not items related to abortion or contraception.
Becca Balint
Representative
VT
The Stop Comstock Act seeks to revise Title 18 of the U.S. Code and the Tariff Act of 1930, narrowing the scope of prohibited materials that cannot be sent through the mail or interstate commerce to only obscene materials, thus removing restrictions related to abortion and contraception. This bill aims to repeal sections of the Comstock Act, an 1873 law that criminalized the dissemination of certain materials through the mail. By amending these laws, the bill intends to clarify and limit the federal government's power to regulate the distribution of materials deemed to be obscene.
Bill Targets Century-Old Law: Stop Comstock Act Would Remove Abortion, 'Indecency' Language from Federal Code
Let's talk about the Stop Comstock Act. In simple terms, this bill proposes updates to some very old sections of federal law dealing with what can be mailed or imported. Specifically, it amends parts of Title 18 of the U.S. Code and the Tariff Act of 1930 to remove language related to 'indecent' materials and items used for 'procuring abortion'. The main goal appears to be modernizing these statutes, scrubbing language that dates back to the 19th century.
Cleaning Up the Legal Attic
So, what's actually changing? The bill zeroes in on specific phrases in laws originally designed to prevent the mailing or importing of 'obscene' or 'indecent' items. For instance, Section 1461 of Title 18 currently restricts mailing things like 'every article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral use'. The Stop Comstock Act proposes striking that language, along with similar references in Section 552 (mailing) and Section 305(a) of the Tariff Act (imports).
The term 'indecent' is also targeted for removal in several places. Why does this matter? Laws using vague terms like 'indecent' or 'immoral' can be tricky because their interpretation can shift dramatically over time. Removing them, particularly the specific references to abortion, aims to eliminate language that could potentially be used to restrict access to reproductive health information or services based on outdated moral standards.
Obscenity Stays, 'Indecency' Goes
It's crucial to note what isn't changing. The bill explicitly keeps language prohibiting the mailing or importing of 'obscene materials'. 'Obscenity' has a specific, though complex, legal definition established by the Supreme Court (think the Miller test), which is generally harder to meet than a vague standard like 'indecency'. By removing 'indecent' and the abortion-specific clauses but retaining 'obscene', the bill seems focused on aligning these old laws with modern First Amendment principles and current societal norms, especially regarding health information, while still maintaining a legal standard against truly obscene content.
Potential Real-World Impact
What does this mean for everyday life? Primarily, this is about updating the legal text on the books. Removing explicit mentions of abortion-related materials and the broad term 'indecent' could reduce the legal ambiguity and potential chilling effect these old laws might have on individuals or organizations involved in providing or sharing information about reproductive healthcare. It's essentially an attempt to ensure that century-old statutes aren't interpreted in ways that conflict with current rights and access related to constitutionally protected healthcare and speech. While the practical, day-to-day change might seem subtle for most people, it's a significant move to modernize federal code and potentially safeguard access to information.