Support justice-driven, accurate and transparent news — make a quick donation to Truthout today! 

Reproductive rights activists are alarmed over a pledge by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to institute nationwide abortion restrictions. Blanche, whose confirmation for attorney general is currently before the Senate, made the remarks in a private call with anti-abortion activists that was later posted online. According to the audio recording, Blanche said the Trump administration is pursuing policies “so that the Dobbs decision becomes permanent in every single state,” referring to the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that ended the constitutional right to abortion and left the matter to individual states.

Amy Littlefield, The Nation’s abortion access correspondent, says the administration is likely to focus on limiting abortion pills delivered by mail, perhaps by invoking the 1873 Comstock Act, which banned the mailing of “lewd” and “indecent” materials through the mail. Littlefield calls it a “zombie law from the Victorian era” that reflects the frustration of the anti-abortion movement’s inability to reduce abortions despite victories at the Supreme Court.

“Abortion bans do not stop abortion. What they do is they kill and harm the people who need them,” she says.

Littlefield is the author of Killers of Roe: My Investigation Into the Mysterious Death of Abortion Rights.

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

Battle Over Medication Abortion Threatens to Revert US Back to 19th Century

AMY GOODMAN: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche privately assured anti-abortion activists that the Trump administration is working to, quote, “make Dobbs permanent,” unquote, nationwide. He made the pledge on a call hosted by the White House Faith Office with the religious group Intercessors for America, which posted a recording of the call online. Blanche acknowledged the Trump administration’s push to restrict abortion is moving slower than supporters want, but promised it was committed to stopping abortion across the country. On the call, Blanche also pledged to crack down on abortion pills.

ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: Rest assured that — that we’re working, you know, hand in hand with — with HHS and the FDA and — and the White House and President Trump’s team to get permanent solutions, so that — so that the Dobbs decision becomes permanent in every single state.

ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL TODD BLANCHE: Rest assured that — that we’re working, you know, hand in hand with — with HHS and the FDA and — and the White House and President Trump’s team to get permanent solutions, so that — so that the Dobbs decision becomes permanent in every single state.

AMY GOODMAN: In response, Democratic Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota said, quote, “Todd Blanche made clear in these secret calls with anti-choice activists that he wants to resurrect the Comstock Act — an antiquated anti-vice law from before women had the right to vote — to ban sending medication abortion in the mail. Republicans will likely do what they always do and confirm Blanche as Attorney General despite all of this, and once again, women across America will pay the price,” the senator said.

For more, we go to Boston, where we’re joined by Amy Littlefield, The Nation’s abortion access correspondent. Her recent book is titled Killers of Roe: My Investigation into the Mysterious Death of Abortion Rights.

Amy, welcome back to Democracy Now! Can you talk about the significance of this private, secret — and unclear what language to use — call that the Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had with anti-abortion activists and what exactly he promised?

AMY LITTLEFIELD: Right. I mean, it’s a little........

© Truthout