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PaperclipPerfector  5mo ago (text post)   23862 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of June 10, 2024

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Nevertheless, I suspect the pro-life movement can find a plaintiff with standing - perhaps a Catholic mail carrier who objects to delivering abortifacients could sue under the Comstock Act (which looks like the plaintiffs' best argument on the merits). But nothing is going to be decided before the election if a plaintiff wiht standing files a new suit.

I don't see why this hypothetical mail carrier would have standing, for pretty similar reasons of attenuated causation as the doctors in this case. Even if the hypothetical mail carrier did have standing why would the remedy be to prevent mifeprestone being shipped through the mail rather than the Post Office accommodating this worker's objection and having someone else do the delivery? Think a minute about the rule implied here. "If any postal carrier has a conscientious objection to delivering X, then no postal carrier may be permitted to deliver X." That result seems absurd to me and I am skeptical the court would rule it so. I'm also not clear on how the Comstock Act is relevant here. As far as I know it is a criminal law with no civil component, so no one can sue anyone else for violations of it.

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