Donald Trump gave his clearest answer to date on the federal regulation of abortion pills
-- and it’s not what conservatives wanted to hear.

After months of avoiding specifics, Trump told CBS News on Monday that he would not use the 150-year-old #Comstock #Act to ban mail delivery of the drugs if elected in November, adding:
“The federal government should have nothing to do with this issue.”

Many prominent conservatives and anti-abortion activists were #outraged by the remark,
calling it “nonsensical” and “cowardly,” and warning that it could dampen turnout and enthusiasm on the right heading into a close election.

“It is not a pro-life position, it’s not an acceptable position, and it does not provide the contrast on this issue to the degree that we have had in the past between him and Kamala Harris,”
said #Tony #Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. “What President Trump is doing is suppressing his own support.”

Though anti-abortion stalwarts credit Trump for appointing the Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe, this is far from their first clash over policy and messaging.

Trump’s refusal to endorse a national abortion ban and push to soften parts of the GOP platform ahead of the Republican convention sparked outrage from corners of the right, including from his former vice president, Mike Pence.

Though abortion opponents are pouring resources into a myriad of legislative, legal and other strategies to cut off access to abortion pills,
they have seized in particular on Comstock as a means of curtailing their use without having to go through Congress.

The law, passed in the 1870s and named for an official who campaigned against everything from masturbation to women’s suffrage,
bans mail delivery of any “lewd or lascivious material,” including any “instrument, substance, drug, medicine, or thing” that could be used for an abortion.

Conservatives’ #Project2025 includes the idea of using this long-dormant anti-vice law to ban the mailing of the pills used in two-thirds of all abortions.

And in 2023, Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD #Vance, joined dozens of members of Congress on a letter urging the Justice Department to use Comstock to prosecute “the reckless distribution of abortion drugs by mail.”

Perkins and other anti-abortion activists see Trump’s new rejection of Comstock as hypocritical given his repeated calls for leaving abortion laws up to states.

They argue that declining to enforce the 19th-century law is a de facto endorsement of doctors and advocacy groups that mail pills into states where they are banned.

Telehealth across state lines is a major reason why the number of abortions has increased nationally since the fall of Roe, accounting for nearly 20 percent of all abortions in the first quarter of 2024, according to a report from the Society of Family Planning.

“President Trump keeps saying that he wants to be out of the federal business of abortion,” said Kristi Hamrick, the chief policy strategist with Students for Life of America. “So, number one, stop funding it. And, two, end the federal prejudice in favor of this distribution.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/20/trump-comstock-enforcement-00175068

Year in and year out, #Christian #nationalists strategize and organize via a seemingly never-ending stream of
conferences, trainings, and other offerings conducted or provided by influential Christian political nonprofits such as:

Turning Point USA (TPUSA), an extremist student group co-founded by Charlie #Kirk and Bill #Montgomery, who died of COVID-19 complications. TPUSA’s specialty is training students to harass “liberal” professors and public school boards. It partners with far right propagandist Jack Posobiec, who is infamous for his viral propaganda campaigns, including the “groomers” campaign launched against Disney after it withdrew support for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.  Kirk hopes to open his own network of private Christian academies across the country. 

Wallbuilders, a nonprofit founded by pseudo-historian David #Barton, a leading opponentof the separation between church and state. Barton–who offers “biblical citizenship training” with Patriot Academy founder Rick #Green–also promotes the militant “black robe regiment” movement and wrote a book about it. 

United in Purpose (UIP), a Christian data targeting firm founded by convicted embezzler Bill #Dallas. UIP’s board has included David Barton and former congressman Bob #McEwen. UIP was involved in a massive voter data breach in 2015, as we previously reported. In or around 2020, UIP formed a group called Ziklag, which pairs wealthy Christian donors with Christian political projects and organizations. UIP also launched a website called EveryLegalVote.com, which promoted “Stop the Steal” rallies and related “action items,” although UIP’s name was removed from the website soon after it launched. (Image via @visionsurreal.)

Truth and Liberty Coalition, which focuses on taking over public school boards in Colorado and beyond. The nonprofit is led by Andrew #Wommack who owns the Charis Bible College franchise and has said that members of the LGBTQ community should wear warning labels on their foreheads. Truth and Liberty’s board of directors includes Wallbuilders founder David Barton and NAR leader Lance #Wallnau, who has said that we must “destroy the public education system before it destroys America,” as reported in Elle Hardy’s book Beyond Belief: How Pentecostal Christianity is Taking Over the World. Truth and Liberty’s website includes a list of “influencers” that includes Rep. Lauren #Boebert (R-CO). 
Truth and Liberty has worked with John #Guandolo of Understanding the Threat. Guandolo is a disgraced former FBI agent and anti-Muslim activist.  As first reported by Right Wing Watch, Guandalo “has begun offering training sessions for right-wing citizens on how to take over their towns, arrest their mayors, and destroy the lives of anyone who objects by publicly humiliating them, getting them fired…, and forcing them to move.” 

Patriot Academy founded by Rick #Green. The organization partners with David Barton (of Wallbuilders) in providing “biblical citizenship training.”

The Oak Initiative founded by Rick #Joyner who advocated a military coup against Obama in 2013 or 2014. Rep. Louie #Gohmert (R-TX) attended one of their summits virtually in 2015. NAR leaders Lance Wallnau and Cindy Jacobs are on the board.

The Council for National Policy, a secretive umbrella and strategy group for billionaires and the leaders of most prominent Christian Right organizations. Steve #Bannon, KellyAnne #Conway, Ali #Alexander, Charlie #Kirk, Ginni #Thomas, Cleta #Mitchell, Bill #Dallas, Tony #Perkins, and Ralph #Reed have all been members. Michael #Flynn has been involved with them too.

The Family Research Council founded by Tony #Perkins, which hosts the influential Pray Vote Stand Summit (previously the Values Voter Summit) and a pastors roundtable called “Watchmen on the Wall.”

The Faith and Freedom Coalition (FFC) founded by Ralph #Reed. FFC’s website says that FFC knocked on more than 8 million doors before the midterm election and held its annual Road to Majority Policy conference in June this year. Its website says the conference “equips attendees with the knowledge and connections they need to drive engagement and voter turnout. The June 2022 gathering accelerated conservatives further down the road to majority ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.”

The Family Leader, which held a Family Leadership summit in July this year. Its president and CEO is Bob Vander #Plaats. Its website called its annual summit the “Midwest’s biggest gathering of Christians seeking cultural transformation in the family, church, government and more.” 

Focus on the Family, the
Family Institute, and the
Dobson Policy Center founded by James #Dobson. Focus on the Family has offices and partnerships around the world. Focus on the Family and Family Research Center helped craft and promote the bill that recently made Arkansas the first state to ban gender-affirming care for minors,

https://buckscountybeacon.com/2022/11/qa-with-jennifer-cohn-a-christian-nationalism-post-election-debriefing/