'We will always protect the unborn': Todd Blanche reaffirms the administration's commitment to defending life

"We will always–and when I say we, I’m not just saying the Department of Justice, I’m saying President Trump’s administration in its entirety–protect the life of the unborn and work with states to make sure we do that in the best way." With these words, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche sought to reassure pro-life advocates, whom he asked for time to comply with bureaucratic deadlines so that the online dispensing of the abortion pill can be repealed through regulations that will stand up in court.

Pressed by Senator Josh Hawley, he assured that the Department of Justice is working to ensure that the FDA "does its job" and asked for time so that the lives of the unborn and state laws can be protected.

"Remember, we have to have studies that we can defend in court. Because we have to be able to say to a judge — probably in this district — that our change was not arbitrary and capricious."

Hawley calls for an end to the "mess" created by a Republican administration criticized by red states

Hawley also questioned the head of the Department of Justice about the fact that a Republican administration was in the hot seat over the lawsuit filed by more than twenty red states over the abortion pill and the "mess" remains unresolved. Blanche responded by citing administrative timelines:

"I don’t want to talk about litigation strategy here, it’s not appropriate. We are not defending what Biden did and will not. The FDA has a process that we’re letting them go forward in, and that—this is, again, in our briefing—takes a year. They’ve committed to do it in significantly less time than a year. And we will always–and when I say we, I’m not just saying the Department of Justice, I’m saying President Trump’s administration in its entirety–protect the life of the unborn and work with states to make sure we do that in the best way."

"Dramatic increase" in the number of abortions in recent years

However, Hawley proposed that the attorney general reinstate the mifepristone regulations from Trump's first term while the FDA continues its work—something that, in the Missouri senator's view, is not being done with sufficient diligence or "consideration"—in light of the "dramatic increase" in the number of abortions in recent years.

Furthermore, he again denounced that Biden's regulation renders any pro-life legislation in Republican states meaningless, since, together with Democratic shield laws, it makes it impossible to prosecute violators in Democratic-controlled regions:

"Under Joe Biden’s abortion rules, it doesn’t matter what your state law is, it doesn’t matter what the voters of my state do. You could just mail in this abortion drug–no prescription, no follow-up visits for the mother, no medical support at all."

Putting an end to forced abortions using abortion pills

Finally, Hawley expressed concern about forced abortions using abortion pills, as criminal complaints on this issue have skyrocketed across the country. The senator asked Blanche to allocate DOJ resources to work with the states "in order to protect these women, help the states defend their laws, and prosecute these criminals who are using Joe Biden's policies to commit assaults everywhere."

"I am firmly committed to looking into that issue. I share your concerns," Blanche replied.