This story first appeared on Bonnie Fuller’s Substack.
During a heated confirmation hearing on July 15, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faced intense pressure from Republican senators to reconsider the Department of Justice’s stance on the mailing of mifepristone, a medication used in abortions. Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz demanded that Blanche review the Department’s interpretation of the 1873 Comstock Act, which currently permits the nationwide mailing of the abortion pill.
The Department of Justice, under former President Joe Biden, issued a legal opinion that the Comstock Act does not prohibit the mailing of abortion medications today. Senator Ted Cruz requested that Blanche, if confirmed, “commit to carefully reviewing that opinion to ensure that it faithfully reflects the actual statutory text that Congress enacted” in 1873. Blanche responded affirmatively, stating, “yes, I will.”
Revisiting the Comstock Act could potentially empower a future Trump administration to block the distribution of abortion pills by mail in states with abortion restrictions, impacting women’s access to safe home medication abortions.
Senator John Cornyn also sought assurances from Blanche to review the Comstock Act, claiming mifepristone is mailed to women without medical supervision. In contrast, mifepristone prescriptions require a telemedicine appointment with a licensed medical provider before being dispensed by an online pharmacy. This medication, used with misoprostol, forms a two-pill abortion regimen.
Attorney Julie F. Kay, Founder and CEO of Reproductive Futures, emphasized, “There are strict state laws about prescribing mifepristone through telemedicine,” and that the process is neither “sloppy” nor “hazardous.”
Lies About Abortion Pills Weaponized by GOP Senators & Blanche
Senator Cornyn accused mifepristone of causing adverse effects such as heavy bleeding and infections. However, since its FDA approval in 2000, mifepristone has had a less than 1% rate of adverse reactions. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) describes it as “safe and effective.”
Senator Katie Britt of Alabama, a self-proclaimed “champion of the unborn,” argued that mifepristone by mail endangers women, a practice permitted since 2021 under the Biden administration. Similarly, Senator Josh Hawley urged Blanche to limit the drug’s mail distribution, citing unclear data on abortion rates in Missouri post-Roe v. Wade overturn in 2022.
Although abortions were briefly illegal in Missouri, they were reinstated up to viability in 2025 after a constitutional amendment. Despite this, access remains challenging due to limited clinics, and new legislative efforts aim to restrict abortions further.
Republican senators’ focus on mifepristone underscores their dissatisfaction with the prevalence of medication abortions. By 2023, these accounted for 65% of all abortions, many facilitated through telemedicine. In states with restricted abortion access, such as Wyoming and Montana, medication abortions constituted 95% and 84%, respectively.
Nationally, abortion rates have risen since the Roe v. Wade ruling was overturned, intensifying pressure on senators to halt mail-order abortion pills.
Hypocrisy as GOP Senators Claim to Want to Protect Women
Senators Hawley and Britt expressed concerns over women being coerced into taking mifepristone, allegations unproven in court. Meanwhile, neither they nor Texas Senators Cruz and Cornyn have addressed the 56% increase in maternal mortality in Texas since its abortion ban began in 2021, nor the U.S.’s highest maternal mortality rate among wealthy countries, with 22.3 women per 100,000 dying.
At least 12 pregnant women have died due to pregnancy complications since 22 states enacted abortion bans. Supporters of mifepristone are committed to opposing any restrictions Blanche may impose.
Lizzy Hinkley, Legal Director for the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine (ACT), stated, “Attacks like Todd Blanche’s are yet another humiliating bid for support from anti-abortion extremists, but abortion medication isn’t ever going away.” Liz Wagner from the Center for Reproductive Rights added, “Whether in a clinic or via telehealth, medication abortion is popular and the anti-abortion movement can’t stand it.”
“The only takeaway from this hearing is that anti-abortion politicians will stop at nothing to try to ban abortion nationwide – even pressuring the Trump administration to misuse Victorian-era laws like the Comstock Act, to do it.”
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