Look at the evidence.
In his address to the nation on election integrity, President Donald Trump declassified compelling evidence that Americaโs elections are vulnerable to manipulation, from noncitizens voting to foreign interference. The president argued that the evidence demands action by Congress to protect one of the most sacred rights of American citizens, the right to vote.
The principle applies elsewhere. When the evidence is clear, it demands action.
Compelling evidence of a different kind was presented this past week during the Senate Judiciary Committeeโs confirmation hearing for Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche. More proof was presented that unborn babies are losing their lives through the abortion drug mifepristone, and increasingly, the drug is being obtained through the mail by men who secretly administer it to the mothers of their unborn children.
Alabama Senator Katie Britt (R) recounted the story of Jona Affholder. After Jona refused to abort her baby, her boyfriend, Hassan-James Abbas, an Ohio medical resident, allegedly used his ex-wifeโs identifying information to obtain abortion pills online to poison Jona and kill their unborn child. As Senator Britt observed, โHer story is one of many.โ
The evidence supports Brittโs claim.
Last month, Army Captain Brandon Jones-Adams was convicted of secretly placing mifepristone into the drink of a junior enlisted soldier he had impregnated, causing the death of their unborn child.
These are not isolated crimes. They expose the deadly consequences of policies making abortion drugs easier to obtain through the mail with fewer safeguards and less accountability.
Why was this evidence presented during the Attorney Generalโs confirmation hearing? Because the Department of Justice has the authority to reverse one of the key policies making this possible.
Following the Supreme Courtโs Dobbs decision in 2022, the Biden administration sought to undermine the decision by expanding access to chemical abortion. It relaxed the FDAโs Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS), removing the long-standing requirement for in-person dispensing and medical oversight.
But another obstacle remained: the Comstock Act, an 1873 federal law prohibiting the use of our mail system to send articles intended for abortion. Rather than enforce that law, the Biden Justice Department issued an opinion concluding that abortion drugs could be mailed unless the sender specifically intended an illegal abortion. In effect, the government said, โPresume lawful use and ask no questions.โ
That DOJ opinion remains in effect today under the Trump administration. Unlike the FDAโs REMS policy, which is being challenged in court, the Justice Department can withdraw and replace that opinion without waiting for Congress or the courts.
The evidence also shows these cases are part of a much larger trend. Since Dobbs, abortions have increased by roughly 20% nationwide, with the abortion pill now accounting for approximately 65%.
The evidence demands action. If evidence of election vulnerabilities justifies action to protect the right to vote, then evidence that existing federal law is being ignored to the detriment of women, unborn children, and the laws of nearly half the states demands action as well. President Trump should direct the Department of Justice to review the Comstock Act, withdraw the Biden policy, and enforce the law as Congress enacted it.
If safeguarding the right to vote is fundamental, and it is, safeguarding the right to life is foundational.
