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Anti-abortion activists plan backdoor strategy to US ban

www.bbc.com Comstock Act: A 19th Century law firing up anti-abortion push

A federal abortion ban won’t pass Congress. But activists hope a 19th Century law could be enforced to halt the procedure.

Comstock Act: A 19th Century law firing up anti-abortion push

US anti-abortion activists, including allies of Donald Trump, have a strategy to ban abortion nationwide - one that bypasses Congress and the American people. It's a plan that hinges on Mr Trump's re-election in November and the use of a little-known 19th Century law.

At this year's annual "Pro-Life Summit" on 20 January, guests listened to a keynote speech from Marjorie Dannenfelser, head of Susan B Anthony Pro-Life America, one of the country's most influential anti-abortion groups.

Ms Dannenfelser is widely credited with convincing Donald Trump to appoint three anti-abortion justices to the Supreme Court during his presidential term. In June 2022, those appointees helped overturn Roe v Wade, rescinding the nationwide right to abortion.

It was a generational victory for the anti-abortion movement. The runway had opened, activists said at the time, to an abortion-free future.

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