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Can we talk about that law in Alabama banning contraceptives from 1970? | Real Talk on Weird Laws - Free To Speak

Can we talk about that law in Alabama banning contraceptives from 1970?

I actually think that old law should stay on the books as a historical marker, not because I agree with it but because it shows how far we've come. Comparing that ban to modern debates about birth control access is like comparing a horse and buggy to a Tesla, the context is totally different. Anyone else think keeping weird old laws as museum pieces is better than scrubbing them?

3 comments

3 Comments

hugos462mo ago

Keep in mind that leaving old laws like that on the books can actually cause real confusion for people who don't dig into the history. I mean, if some teenager or new parent reads that and doesn't realize it's basically dead and unenforceable, they might feel scared or misinformed about their rights. Plus, there's always a chance some county official or cop could try to use it as a weird loophole to mess with someone, which happens way more than folks think. Honestly, scrubbing laws that are clearly outdated and unconstitutional seems cleaner to me, because it removes any shadow of doubt about what's actually the rule today. Idk, keeping it as a museum piece sounds nice in theory but the real world doesn't work like that.

blake7922mo ago

Only 361 people in Alabama even knew that law still existed before this post.

drew_hart42mo ago

@hugos46 makes a really good point about the confusion factor. You'd be surprised how often old laws end up getting cited by someone who doesn't know better. I've seen it happen with outdated property rules in my own neighborhood. Best move is to treat these like an old cell phone contract you forgot to cancel - just flush it so nobody gets burned down the road.