EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Hawley says FDA commissioner nominee denied dangers of chemical abortion; demands answers amid lawsuits, official review 

The woman nominated to lead the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Heidi Overton, told senators Thursday she has “no problem” with zero safeguards for the mail-order shipment of chemical abortion pills, despite ongoing lawsuits and studies that reveal the drug’s dangers to women, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, told Heartlander News.

“Dr. Overton suggested that maybe the Biden rules on chemical abortion, which is just that you can prescribe it no matter what. In fact, you don’t even need to have an in-person prescription. You can mail it into Missouri and anywhere else – those rules are outrageous, and she suggested today that the FDA has no problem with that,” Hawley said in an exclusive interview.

Overton, who is seeking to become the youngest FDA commissioner in history, testified Thursday morning before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, which will vote later this fall on her nomination. If she passes the HELP Committee, she will then appear before the Senate, which will also consider whether to approve her for the post. 

Overton’s defense of mifepristone, the chemical abortion drug, is inconsistent with the FDA’s previous statements before the Senate and in court, said Hawley, who has sought to ban the drug and reinstate restrictions on it.

“That would be a huge change of position,” he said. “That is not what the FDA has told the state of Missouri in their litigation. It’s not what they’ve told other states in their litigation. I want to make sure that Missouri is protected here, so she’s got to clarify that.”

In 2023, the FDA, under the Biden administration, abolished the required in-person doctor’s visit for the prescription of mifepristone and allowed the mail-order and delivery of the drug to any address. Multiple states, including Missouri, have sued the FDA for violating state laws against abortion through the mail-order shipment of mifepristone.

Currently, a case from Louisiana is making its way through the courts, alleging the harm that the FDA’s lack of protections on mifepristone poses to both women and the state.

“It’s well past time for the FDA to push back against the false claims of mifepristone’s alleged safety,” CEO of The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) Dr. Christina Francis told Heartlander News in a statement.

“Plentiful data, and what we see in practice every day, confirm the dangers this abortion drug presents not only to our preborn patients but also to the women and girls taking it. We are hopeful Dr. Overton will prioritize patient safety by swiftly reporting on the findings of the FDA’s review of the drug’s safety and reinstate vital safeguards.”

Members of the FDA have acknowledged in court that the removal of protections in 2023 was unlawful and that previous FDA studies on mifepristone are inadequate, as previously reported.

“What I want to be real sure about is that the FDA under her leadership is not going to change its position before the relevant courts, including the state of Missouri, that is suing in court to make sure that our rules governing chemical abortion are respected,” Hawley told Heartlander News. “Now the FDA is going to come out and say, ‘Yeah, we’re fine with mailing abortion drugs, no safety rules, no protocols, mail them right into Missouri.’ I’ve got a huge problem with that.”

Additionally, Students for Life of America (SFLA) filed a notice of intent to sue against the FDA Thursday morning, alleging that the agency skipped the required environmental review in its initial approval of mifepristone in 2000, according to a release provided to Heartlander News.

“Dr. Heidi Overton was disappointing as she pretended that because the FDA has said there is nothing to see here when it comes to chemical abortion pills, that it wasn’t worth a clear statement,” SFLA President Kristen Hawkins said in a post on X. “Avoidance is not going to work any longer.”

FDA personnel, including former commissioner Marty Makary, have also promised Congress and courts numerous times to conduct a review of mifepristone, which has been “ongoing” for more than 18 months. A federal court is requiring an update on this review by Oct. 7 in the ongoing Louisiana v. FDA case.

Overton continually referenced that review in her testimony before the HELP Committee but said mifepristone “is safe and effective as labeled today,” adding that she could not “prejudge the determination of a safety review that is currently ongoing.”

“We’ve got to make sure that she is committed to ending the abortion drugs’ availability in the state of Missouri and every other state,” Hawley said. “That they’re going to put back in place the safety restrictions and they’re going to follow the law.”