No, Todd Blanche Didn't Promise a National Abortion Ban—But He Did Vow Something Else

Here's the real threat getting buried under panicked headlines

I was irate last night, watching video after video flood my social feed claiming that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had pledged to pass a national abortion ban. Leaving aside the fact that the Justice Department doesn’t pass laws, what Blanche said was something much more specific—and realistic—than a national ban.

In his call with faith leaders, Blanche promised that the Justice Department was working with the White House, the FDA, and the HHS to stop the shipping of abortion pills into banned states. While the move would certainly have a national impact, that is not the same thing as a national abortion ban.

Take a listen below:

Let’s dig into what Blanche is actually saying here.

As regular readers know, anti-abortion activists and lawmakers are desperate to stop the mailing of abortion pills; that’s because women have been sidestepping draconian bans by having abortion medication shipped to them from providers in pro-choice states. In fact, that’s one of the primary reasons the national abortion rate hasn’t budged: more than two-thirds of American abortions are medication abortions, and nearly one in three are provided via telehealth.

That’s precisely why conservatives have been lobbying the FDA to bring back old rules that would require mifepristone be dispensed in person. They know if they’re able to stop telemedicine abortion, they can put a huge dent in access.

It wasn’t so long ago that the issue made it all the way to the Supreme Court, in Louisiana v. FDA. This is important, because it gets to the heart of what Blanche is saying in this clip: antis argue that in addition to being unsafe, telemedicine undermines Louisiana’s sovereignty, because when providers ship pills into the state, it effectively nullifies their ban. Though SCOTUS ended up kicking the case back to a lower court, Justice Samuel Alito actually added to that argument in his dissent—giving conservatives a roadmap for how to move forward. He wrote that telemedicine abortion undermines the Court’s decision in Dobbs.

That’s what Blanche meant when he said he’s working “so that the Dobbs decision becomes permanent in every single state.” He was not referring to enacting a national “ban” on abortion—but stopping the shipping of abortion medication under the auspices of adhering to Dobbs.

To be clear: if we lost telemedicine abortion, there would be devastating national consequences. The blue state providers shipping pills across state lines are like the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dam; without them, we’d be drowning. You could even argue—and I have!—that banning the shipping of abortion pills amounts to a backdoor national ban.

If that were the case being made in media headlines and viral TikToks, I wouldn’t be up at 5AM writing this. Instead, Americans are coming across news items declaring, “Todd Blanche promises national abortion ban” or “Trump will issue a national abortion ban.”

You might be saying to yourself, well, at least people are activated and paying attention. Or maybe you’re thinking that Blanche would love to pass a national ban regardless of what he was talking about on the call—so what’s the harm?

I’ll tell you: by making this story about a “national abortion ban,” we’re giving the Trump administration an easy out. Now, all the White House needs to do is issue an unequivocal statement saying there are no plans to pass a national ban, and reiterate that Trump ‘promised’ to veto such legislation. Just like that, the very real threat to telemedicine abortion fades into the background—and we’ve squandered political momentum and voter fury that could have been directed to taking it down.

Because like it or not, once people hear “national abortion ban,” anything else will seem tame by comparison. And once the conversation pivots to telemedicine, it won’t seem nearly as urgent to the average American. (I wish that wasn’t true, but alas.)

There’s also another important story getting buried in the brouhaha over a “national ban.” Blanche didn’t just talk about attacking telemedicine abortion, but the FACE Act—the federal law that protects abortion clinics. Blanche said that the DOJ is hard at work putting policies in place so that even after Trump leaves the White House, “prosecutors will no longer be able to use the FACE Act” to go after clinic harassers. Listen below:

I don’t think I need to tell you, in a moment when violence against clinics is on the rise, just how dangerous this is. But now that story is lost among headlines about a national ban.

So what is Todd Blanche going to do on abortion?

Let’s push past all noise and talk about what this call actually means. Blanche, who is awaiting his confirmation vote, is trying to drum up support wherever he can. And as I noted on social media last night, there’s a decent chance that the acting AG is just posturing here—telling the anti-abortion movement what it wants to hear.

After all, Blanche knows that he needs to make nice with this particular lobby: Republicans have kept him on the ropes about abortion for a while now. He’s done his best to appease them, telling anti-abortion Senators that he would enforce the Comstock Act, and saying the DOJ would “commit our resources to stopping” the mailing of abortion pills.

But as we all know, Donald Trump hasn’t been super eager to make any big public moves against abortion—because he knows this is a loser issue for Republicans. That’s why the administration hasn’t revived the Comstock Act; and when the FDA announced its bogus “safety review” of mifepristone last year, some saw it as the White House throwing the anti-abortion movement a bone. (We later learned that former FDA Chief Marty Makary had even been slow-walking the study until after the midterms.)

All of that is important context for this call, where Blanche is making all sorts of anti-abortion promises we have no idea if he intends—or has the power to—keep. Don’t get it twisted: of course this guy is a danger, and I’m sure he’d love to restrict abortion however possible. I’m just not so sure that the Trump administration wants the smoke that something like Comstock would bring.

Here’s what I did find notable: Blanche made a note of saying that the DOJ is working “hand in hand with the HHS, and the FDA, and the White House” on this issue. It makes me think that if the administration does have plans to directly attack abortion pills, it will be via their fake mifepristone study.

It’s the move that makes the most political sense. If the FDA comes out with a bullshit “review” of abortion medication claiming it’s unsafe to dispense without an in-person visit, that gives the White House a lot more cover than reviving a 150-year-old zombie law. Claiming the administration is just “protecting” women is a much easier sell—and a much cleaner way to sidestep voter fury.

What happens now?

Again, just because Blanche didn’t promise a national abortion ban doesn’t mean he’s not a threat to our rights. I got a legitimate chill down my spine when he said, “We will have victory, victory will be soon, and it will be permanent.”

But in a moment when there is so much confusion, it’s vital that we’re keeping our heads on straight, focusing on the most urgent threats, and mobilizing outrage strategically.

I’ll keep you updated as I learn more; I’m especially curious to see if the White House responds to the audio at all. In the meantime, please remember to take a breath, use your energy where it’s best served—and know that Abortion, Every Day is here to be with you through it all.

---

You can listen to Blanche’s full call here. (Conservatives tried to delete it, but AED was too fast. 💅)