Senators to question FDA nominee about her views on abortion pill and vaccines

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s nominee to take over the Food and Drug Administration is set to answer questions Thursday, with Senate lawmakers likely to focus on her plans for vaccines, the abortion pill and other products that have… Heidi Overton, a physician and top White House aide, has spent most of her career working for Trump or conservative groups aligned with his agenda. That connection may prompt questions from some members of the Senate health committee which is considering her nomination.In her current role as a domestic policy adviser, Overton worked on several White House health initiatives, including the revamped food pyramid and efforts to overhaul childhood vaccines.

Previously she was an executive at the America First Policy Institute, authoring papers critical of abortion and transgender care. During Trump’s first term, she served as a White House fellow.If confirmed by the Senate, Overton would inherit a raft of controversial projects, including a safety review of the nation’s principal abortion drug, a plan to break up combination vaccines and new rules that make it easier to sellflavored electronic cigarettes.All three policies break from FDA’s longstanding positions, especially on the safety of childhood vaccines. Overton stood beside Trump and Health Secretary Robert F.

Kennedy in the Oval Office last month when they falsely suggested that the use of combination vaccines could be a contributor to autism.Health committee chairman Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician from Louisiana, called Overton’s support for that plan to space out vaccinations “almost disqualifying.”But Cassidy and other Senate Republicans may find common ground with Overton on abortion. Cassidy and several colleagues have spent months urging the FDA to restrict access to mifepristone, the pill currently used in most abortions in the U.S.The FDA first approved mifepristone in 2000 and has repeatedly affirmed its safety while broadening access, including allowing it to be sent through the mail.

But Kennedy ordered a reevaluation of the drug’s safety last year, following calls from anti-abortion groups and lawmakers aligned with Trump.FDA officials have said almost nothing about the review, except that it is ongoing.While working at the America First Policy Institute, Overton blasted the FDA’s 2023 decision — u…