Anthony Comstock 
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SOURCE: The Hill
3/3/2023
At its 150th Anniversary, the Comstock Law is Relevant Again
by Jonathan Friedman and Amy Werbel
Anthony Comstock drew on elite connections to give himself near unilateral power to confiscate "obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, or immoral" materials —terms he was free to define on his own—and prosecute people for possessing them. Right-wing politicians seem to be inspired by the example.
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3/5/2023
The Defiant Woman at the Center of New York's First Abortion Battle
by Alan J. Singer
Carolyn Ann Trow Lohman, better known as Madame Restell, defied the authority of the medical establishment and moral crusaders to help women obtain abortions. Justice Alito's misuse of history to justify the Dobbs decision shows the need to remember her.
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SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
7/6/2022
Conservatives Attacking Pornography Carry on History of Politicized Moral Panics
by Kelsy Burke
Calls by J.D. Vance and other conservative politicians for bans on pornography echo the tactics and the failures of America's first anti-obscenity crusader, Anthony Comstock.
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SOURCE: Atlas Obscura
4/22/2022
The 19th Century Woman's Secret Guides to Birth Control
Women have always tried to share information enabling them to control their reproductive health, and others have always tried to stop them. Secrecy, coded language and misdirection are historical puzzles to untangle, say Andrea Tone, Naomi Rendina, Lauren Thompson and Donna Drucker.
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SOURCE: NPR
7/7/2021
How An Anti-Vice Crusader Sabotaged The Early Birth Control Movement
Author Amy Sohn discusses her new book on the life and work of anti-vice crusader Anthony Comstock, who's work resulted in the restriction of contraception for a century.
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