Reproductive Equity Now Statement on the Confirmation of Todd Blanche as Attorney General

Blanche confirmation puts abortion access at risk 

Boston, MA (August 8, 2026) – Today, the Senate narrowly voted to confirm Donald Trump’s personal lawyer and nominee for U.S. Attorney General, Todd Blanche. His confirmation severely threatens abortion access and all reproductive health care nationwide. 

“Todd Blanche has clearly shown that he is willing to use the nation’s highest law enforcement office to impose an extreme anti-abortion agenda across the nation. Rather than simply enforcing federal law, he’s determined to use the full power of the Department of Justice to undermine state protections for abortion access and permanently cement the devastating consequences of the Dobbs decision across the entire country. States like Massachusetts have enacted strong protections for patients and providers, including shield laws that protect clinicians providing lawful care. Blanche's comments are a direct threat to those protections and to every person who relies on access to this critical healthcare. Reproductive Equity Now will continue to work alongside lawmakers, providers, and advocates to defend reproductive freedom protections,” said Taylor St. Germain, interim co-Executive Director, Reproductive Equity Now.

Todd Blanche has made it clear he intends to use the Department of Justice to roll back abortion access nationwide, even in states that have enacted strong legal protections for patients and providers. On a recent call with faith leaders hosted by the White House Faith Office, Blanche said the Trump administration is "working hand-in-hand" with the Department of Health and Human Services, the White House, and President Trump's team to secure "permanent solutions so the Dobbs decision becomes permanent in every single state." He also indicated the administration is developing policies to prevent abortion medications from being mailed into states where abortion is banned, signaling a coordinated federal effort to restrict access to medication abortion across state lines.

These comments go well beyond Blanche's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he pledged that the Department of Justice would take action to stop the mailing of medication abortion. 

Blanche's statements raise serious concerns about the future of medication abortion, which accounts for the majority of abortions provided in the United States. Although the Trump administration has thus far left in place federal regulations allowing mifepristone to be prescribed through telehealth and dispensed by mail, Blanche indicated those policies are under active review and that the Trump administration is developing policies to stop abortion medications from being mailed across state lines, echoing long-standing demands from anti-abortion organizations to restrict access to FDA-approved medication abortion and to ban abortion nationwide.

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