When was the comstock act enacted

By many mainstream Americans who had originally supported the Comstock Law were now reconsidering that support in light of countervailing concerns over free speech. But Comstock was not deterred, continuing to prosecute alleged violators as they were made known to him.

At the turn of the century, 24 states had enacted their own versions of the Comstock Act, many of which were more stringent than the federal statute. The Comstock Law itself was recodified and reenacted several times in the twentieth century, and prosecutions for violations of the federal statute continued even as Americans became increasingly diverse and tolerant.

To the surprise of many observers, the U. S Supreme Court continued to uphold the Comstock Law into the s. United States v. Zuideveld , F. While this decision did not eliminate the problem of the restrictive "chastity laws" on the state level, it was a crucial ruling. Physicians could now legally mail birth control devices and information throughout the country, paving the way for the legitimization of birth control by the medical industry and the general public.

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Is it safe? How do prescriptions differ? The law also made it a misdemeanor for anyone to sell, give away, or possess an obscene book, pamphlet, picture, drawing, or advertisement.

The breadth of the legislation included writings or instruments pertaining to contraception and abortion, even if written by a physician. After Congress passed the bill, it designated Comstock as a special agent in the United States Post Office charged with enforcing the law. With the help of his New York Society for the Suppression of Vice, Comstock was able to arrest individuals under the new act. Symbol of the " New York Society for the Suppression of Vice ", advocating book-burning, public domain.

Congress adopted the Comstock Act in response to the proliferation of obscene materials in the s. Anthony Comstock , head of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice, had shown members of Congress illustrations that he considered obscene and urged legislators to pass the measure to prevent crime and corruption of children. Punishment for violating the law was imprisonment for no less than six months and no more than five years or a fine not less than one hundred dollars and not more than two thousand dollars.

The Comstock Law brought reproductive issues to the forefront of American society and paved the way for many future Supreme Court Cases on relevant topics. The Comstock Law was enforced until when the landmark decision of Griswold v. Then in Justice Thurgood Marshall stated that the rights to receive information and to personal privacy were fundamental to every American. This statement was part of his decision in the Supreme Court case Stanley v.