At her Senate confirmation hearing, FDA nominee Heidi Overton declined to say whether she considers IUDs a form of abortion. Asked whether she agrees mifepristone met the FDA’s safety and efficacy standards, she equivocated and said the drug should undergo post-market review.
Before the hearing, Overton called the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade “a huge victory for life” and wrote in a 2023 paper for the America First Policy Institute that mifepristone was “dangerous to women.” Sen. Patty Murray cited the paper as she questioned whether Overton considered the drug safe.
Mifepristone, one of two prescription drugs used in medication abortions, received FDA approval more than 20 years ago. The Guttmacher Institute says medication abortions account for roughly 63 percent of all abortions. The drug’s fate is tied up in at least five federal lawsuits; an appeals court heard arguments earlier this month in a case that could restrict access nationally. More than 160 abortion patients, physicians and advocates urged senators to reject Overton’s nomination.
