The Comstock Act

"Birth Control is Pornography"

by Jeff Elliott

Comstock boasted about the numbers of "libertines" that he had driven to suicide

No matter how you look at it, 1873 was a lousy year. Stock markets crashed, plunging the globe into the worst depression of that time; millions of Americans were unemployed and many near starvation; blacks were killed during riots in the South; Marines were sent to Panama to protect American interests; Ulysses S. Grant began a second scandal-ridden term as President. And because it had nothing serious to worry about, Congress passed the "Comstock Act," defining any information about birth control as pornography. Behind the new law was Anthony Comstock (1844-1915), a former dry goods clerk and self-appointed crusader against obscenity. Founder of the New York Society for the Supression of Vice, Comstock boasted about the numbers of "libertines" that he had driven to suicide. "It was a horrible, mean-spirited law," says Betty Wheeler, counsel to democrats on the House Judiciary Committee. "Scores of people were convicted for mailing pamphlets on birth control." While Senator James Exon (D - Nebraska) won support for his "Communications Decency Act" last year by showing everyone his collection of pornography dredged from the Internet, Comstock carried a sack of "lowbrow" material to Washington, including literature on contraceptives and abortion. And like Exon's success in frightening his net-naive colleagues, Comstock soon found support and had his law. The special focus was the U.S. Postal Service, where Comstock was a special (read: unpaid) agent. The Comstock Act made it illegal to send any information about contraception through the mails. As a result, scientific books were censored, pharmacists were arrested for revealing details about contraception, and hundreds were imprisoned. Comstock later bragged that he had convicted enough people to fill a train with 61 passenger cars -- roughly 4,000 citizens. Among those targeted by Comstock was Margaret Sanger, founder of the American birth control movement. Both Sanger and her husband were charged with Comstock violations in 1914. William Sanger was convicted (of selling a single copy of her Family Limitation pamphlet), but Margaret Sanger's case was later dismissed. It should be noted that Comstock personally attended her trial, where he developed pneumonia that proved fatal. The Comstock Act first began crumbling in 1936, when the courts allowed doctors to prescribe contraceptives "for the purpose of saving life or promoting the well-being of patients." Finally in 1971, Congress removed the prohibition on birth control. But even 123 years later, the language pertaining to abortion remains. Not that it was totally forgotten: last year, the maximum fine was increased from $5,000 to $250,000 for a first offense. After all, the dollar isn't quite what it was in 1873 -- even if the morality might be the same.

Front Page