Overview
- Acting attorney general nominee Todd Blanche told senators on Wednesday that the Justice Department "is not defending what Biden did, and will not," referring to the Biden-era loosening of mifepristone access.
- The DOJ asked a federal court to pause the Louisiana v. FDA litigation while the Food and Drug Administration conducts a safety review of mifepristone that the agency says will be expedited.
- Blanche said he expects the department would defend the earlier Trump-era safety rules for mifepristone, including requirements for in-person visits, but he declined to discuss specific litigation strategy at his confirmation hearing.
- When pressed by senators, Blanche agreed to "carefully review" the Biden administration’s interpretation of the 1873 Comstock Act and whether it can be used to bar mailing abortion drugs, a move legal experts say would be unprecedented.
- The shift in DOJ stance raises immediate stakes for states and patients: states that protect mailed abortion pills are preparing legal responses and changes at the federal level could narrow access even where state law currently allows it.