Blanche signals potential restrictions on mifepristone by mail coming from Trump administration

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signaled on a call with a predominantly Protestant Christian ministry that the Trump administration would be “putting practices and policies in place” to stop shipment of mifepristone by mail.

During a private call in late July, hosted by the White House Faith Office, Blanche told the group Intercessors for America that the Justice Department was “working hand in hand” with federal agencies and the White House “so that the Dobbs decision becomes permanent in every single state.” He referred to Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision finding abortion a constitutionally-protected right, and returned the matter of restricting or regulating abortion to the legislative branch. A recording of the Blanche call, which appears to have since been removed from YouTube, was first reported by Politico.

“If states have said, ‘We are going to protect the unborn and we’re going to protect every life from the moment of conception,’ we’re putting practices and policies in place so that other states and other organizations can’t attack that,” Blanche said on the call. “They can’t do things like they’re doing with mailing in mail-order drugs.”

A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from OSV News.

But a Justice Department statement provided to The Hill claimed Blanche’s “comments have been mischaracterized and need to be understood in their full context, which was with respect to mail order abortion drugs, not a broader expansion of federal control over states.”

The Trump administration asked multiple judges to pause state lawsuits seeking to roll back Biden administration-era eased restrictions on mifepristone, a drug commonly used for first trimester abortion, but which is also used in some miscarriage care protocols. The Trump administration has thus far left that regulation in effect while seeking to block challenges to it pending a promised FDA safety review, prompting frustration from pro-life advocates.

The state lawsuits — notably from Louisiana, Missouri and Florida — seek to end the FDA policy implemented during the Biden administration permitting mifepristone to be distributed by mail. The states have argued the policy undermines their own state laws, among other objections.

In April, a federal judge agreed to the Justice Department’s request and paused Louisiana’s lawsuit, but indicated the state could potentially continue its challenge after the FDA concludes its safety review. However, the status and timeline of the FDA review are unclear.

Blanche’s recent comments came as he sought Senate confirmation as attorney general.

His nomination was advanced by the Senate Judiciary Committee Aug. 4. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement acknowledging the committee vote that during Blanche’s hearing, “a majority of GOP senators on the Judiciary Committee pressed him on abortion drugs, uncomfortable with the continuation of Biden’s illegal mail-order abortion drug regime and the Department of Justice’s opposition in court to pro-life states challenging the scheme.”

Blanche, she said, “was right when he said, ‘We very much believe the Biden rules were wrong.’ We thank pro-life senators for questioning Acting AG Blanche, and urge the Acting AG to swiftly settle the case with Louisiana and abortion drug coercion survivor Rosalie Markezich to immediately get abortion drugs out of the mail while the FDA’s safety study continues.”

Blanche’s path to confirmation by the full Senate is narrow. Of three senators seen as key swing votes, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who is seeking reelection in a swing state in November, said Aug. 4 she will not support Blanche’s nomination. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on Aug. 7 said she would not support Blanche, while Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said the same day he would.

Senate GOP leadership can afford to lose just two Republicans if Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., remains absent from the upper chamber and if all 47 Senate Democrats vote “no.”

The U.S. Catholic bishops will launch a nationwide call to prayer and action on Aug. 18, in what they called an effort to mobilize Catholics to address the rising abortion rate and the increased availability of mifepristone for abortion via mail.

According to an estimate from Guttmacher Institute, a research firm that supports legal abortion access, 1.12 million abortions took place in the U.S. in 2025, marking a 21% increase from 2020, “the last year of comprehensive national estimates” before Dobbs. It found 2025 figures were largely unchanged from the prior year, but suggested they might be low due to the ability to acquire abortion pills by means other than U.S. abortion clinic providers.

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