Democrats target 150-year-old 'zombie law,' warning the GOP could use it to ban abortion

WASHINGTON — A group of Senate Democrats is pushing to repeal a 150-year-old law that reproductive rights advocates fear could be used to further curb access to abortion, specifically abortion pills.

The Comstock Act of 1873 bans lewd, obscene or abortion-producing materials from being sent through the mail, although it has not been widely enforced for decades. As the abortion pill mifepristone faces legal challenges, its defenders fear that the Comstock Act could be used by a future president as a tool to curtail abortion access nationwide, including in states where it is legal.

“The Comstock Act is a 150-year-old zombie law banning abortion that’s long been relegated to the dustbin of history,” Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., a leader on the bill, said in a statement announcing the legislative push. “Now that Trump has overturned Roe, 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.”

Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., is leading a House version of the bill as well. "It’s time we take immediate action to stop Republicans from abusing the Comstock Act to further erode our reproductive rights," she said in a statement.

While Planned Parenthood has endorsed the new legislation, there has been reluctance from some parts of the reproductive rights movement and from other elected Democrats to dive too deeply into overturning the Comstock Act for fear of legitimizing it.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., hasn't weighed in and dodged when asked by NBC News about taking action against Comstock last week; instead, he pointed to moves his party has taken on other related matters.

“Look,” Schumer said,