Thread: Jeckyl or Hyde.....

Politician who banned abortion-related Web sites dies

Posted by Declan McCullagh
Henry Hyde, the former Illinois congressman who led attempts to impeach President Bill Clinton and was a longtime foe of abortion, died on Thursday. He was 83.
The Associated Press has already published an extensive obituary of Hyde, a Republican who retired from Congress at the end of the last session. What the AP doesn't mention is Hyde's authorship of a federal law--still on the books today--making it a felony to distribute information over the Internet that relates to obtaining an abortion.
Hyde's successful amendment to an unrelated telecommunications bill in 1996 extended the Comstock Law to "interactive computer services." The amended language is here:

Whoever...knowingly uses any...interactive computer service...for carriage...any drug, medicine, article, or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral use; or any written or printed card, letter, circular, book, pamphlet, advertisement, or notice of any kind giving information, directly or indirectly, where, how, or of whom, or by what means any of such mentioned articles, matters, or things may be obtained or made...shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both, for the first such offense and shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both, for each such offense thereafter.
Politician who banned abortion-related Web sites dies | The Iconoclast - politics, law, and technology - CNET News.com


Ah Dr. Jeckyl, Mr. Hyde is dead......Not too dance on his grave but it is this type of anti-information, anti-freespeech nonsense that makes the GOP look like the party voted most likely to support an East German style of ruling.


While I am sure Mr. Hyde had some redeeming characteristics his record overshadows them. The sad part is that his stance is one likely to be lauded by the current crop of GOP presidential candidates in their mad rush to appease a tiny segment of the population that would see the US ruled by their brand of the Taliban.

Obviously it's not enforced.

You can thank the Clinton ADministraton for that....if Bush 1 had been re-elected then you might have seen a test case. Sorry but the right lost all credibility when they supported this type of nonsense.

Originally Posted by liberalman

You can thank the Clinton ADministraton for that....if Bush 1 had been re-elected then you might have seen a test case. Sorry but the right lost all credibility when they supported this type of nonsense.

Average people had internet back then?

Let see 1996...yup I had AOL at that point as did pretty much everyone in my apartment complex at the time...

Let's see 1996, I think I had moved up from the 300 baud to the blazing 2400 baud.

I downloaded my first nudie pic 12 years ago ...no joke

I applauded Rep Hyde for his efforts to protect the most innocent & helpless among us.
RIP Mr Hyde.