The Legal Battle Over Mifepristone: Examining the Comstock Act and Potential Restrictions.

A federal judge in Texas may use the Comstock Act, an obscure 19th-century law, to roll back mail delivery of the abortion pill mifepristone. The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, an anti-abortion group, is challenging the FDA's approval of mifepristone, and the judge could order the FDA to impose tougher restrictions on how the pill is distributed. The Comstock Act, which bans mail delivery of "obscene" materials, including drugs advertised for use in abortions, has not been enforced in decades. The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine is seeking to pull mifepristone from the U.S. market, but the Biden administration is expected to appeal any ruling against the FDA.