Todd Blanche’s Confirmation Hearing Focuses on Mail-Order Abortion Pills

During a six-hour Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Acting Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche pledged to end the distribution of abortion pills by mail. The hearing, part of a two-day review, featured bipartisan questioning, with Republican Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) leading criticism of the Biden administration’s pandemic-era loosening of in-person dispensing rules for mifepristone. Blanche affirmed the Department of Justice would “prioritize taking meaningful and thoughtful action” to address what Britt described as dangers to women nationwide.

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Mifepristone received FDA approval for abortion care in 2000 after extensive peer-reviewed studies confirmed its safety and efficacy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the administration repealed the requirement that the drug be dispensed in person, allowing telehealth prescriptions and mail delivery. Proponents argue the change preserved access while minimizing virus exposure; opponents contend it enables non-prescribed distribution.

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Blanche told senators the DOJ would support the FDA’s “first-time in a decade” safety review of mifepristone, emphasizing that the agency’s ongoing studies are “real” and “appropriate.” He also noted that the DOJ must allow the FDA to continue its review, despite pressure from anti-abortion groups to block the medication’s mail delivery.

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ACLU chief political and advocacy officer Deirdre Schifeling condemned Blanche’s stance, saying he would “open his door wide to extremists who would stop at nothing to end abortion nationwide.” Britt cited a case in which a woman’s partner allegedly gave her the pill without consent, arguing that broader restrictions, not criminal prosecution of intimate-partner violence, are needed.

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• “Absolutely, Senator,” — Todd Blanche, nominee

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• “I very much commit our resources to stopping this.” — Todd Blanche

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• “Can you commit to me today that this administration and DOJ will prioritize taking meaningful and thoughtful action to address the dangers that occurred in the current status quo to women all over this country?” — Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala.

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• “You know, I’ve seen video myself of what appears to be pills coming even from overseas to young women, and doesn’t matter who applies for it, anybody can get it. There’s no instructions; they just come dumped out of a little plastic bag, and it’s wrong,” — Todd Blanche

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• “Today Todd Blanche demonstrated that if confirmed as Attorney General, he will be content to go along with anti-abortion extremists’ plan to restrict medication abortion nationwide,” — Deirdre Schifeling, ACLU

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These statements illustrate the central dispute over whether federal policy should curtail mail-order abortion medication.

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