President Trump's nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Heidi Overton, could force a long-delayed reckoning over the safety of the abortion drug mifepristone, but she first faces resistance from both parties in the Senate.
John Mize, CEO of Americans United for Life, told Fox News Digital that Overton would bring "objectivity" to the FDA's handling of mifepristone, the chemical abortion drug that now accounts for roughly two-thirds of all clinician-provided abortions in the United States. Mize said he has spoken with Overton five or six times and believes she understands the risks the drug poses to women, particularly under the current rules that allow it to be prescribed after a telehealth visit and shipped by mail without an in-person physician screening.
Overton, a medical doctor who currently serves as Trump's deputy assistant for domestic policy, would inherit an ongoing FDA safety review of mifepristone that was formally announced in September 2025 and has no scheduled completion date. The agency has said these reviews typically take a year or longer. Pro-life groups have accused the previous FDA leadership of dragging its feet on that review, and they see Overton's nomination as a chance to change course.
In his interview with Fox News Digital, Mize did not hold back about what he hopes Overton will accomplish at the FDA.
"I think she's going to bring objectivity to the issue of mifepristone in a way that will expose this drug for the damage it causes women."
He added that Overton shares his concern about a drug carrying the FDA's strongest safety warning, a so-called black box warning for the risk of serious and sometimes fatal infections or bleeding, being mailed directly to patients.
"Dr. Overton and I share a very similar perspective that the drug is dangerous, particularly in an unregulated way for women. I firmly believe she understands the clinical implications of taking a drug with a black box warning and now shipping it in the mail."
Mifepristone is FDA-approved for use up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. But the drug's reach has expanded sharply. Abortion drugs accounted for about 65% of clinician-provided abortions in 2023, up from 53% in 2020, according to the Guttmacher Institute. That surge followed the FDA's 2021 decision to stop enforcing the drug's in-person dispensing requirement, a move initially justified by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and later made permanent after the agency reviewed safety data.
Weeks before Mize's interview, an 18-year-old woman in North Carolina was accused of using mifepristone and misoprostol to terminate a pregnancy at 31 weeks, more than triple the drug's approved gestational limit.
Mize pointed to a 2025 study from the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative think tank, that analyzed insurance claims from 865,727 mifepristone abortions between 2017 and 2023. The study found a serious adverse event rate of nearly 11%, including hemorrhaging, sepsis, and infection.
The study was not peer-reviewed and was not published in a medical journal. It received immediate pushback from parts of the medical community, which said it relied on flawed methodology. Mize acknowledged the limitations but argued the data still matters.
"It's not the whole picture, and Dr. Overton would say that. But it's an important indicator as to what's happening in the real world. So I believe she will do a really good job of evaluating the study."
Mize described Overton as "measured" and "methodical," and said he does not expect her to rush to action.
"I don't get the sense that she's gonna move quickly on issues."
Still, Mize made his long-term goal clear. He wants mifepristone pulled from the market entirely, though he conceded the country may not be ready for that step.
"From my perspective, any medication that denies someone the opportunity to live and kills a human being shouldn't be something that we're promoting amongst the FDA. Ultimately, I would love to see this drug removed from the market for those reasons. Culturally, we might not be there right now."
Overton has not been shy about her views. In a February 2023 policy brief for the America First Policy Institute, where she previously served as chief policy officer, she denounced federal efforts to expand access to abortion pills and accused the Biden administration of exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to justify mailing the drugs directly to patients.
"Abortion is corrosive to children, women, and society broadly because it devalues and extinguishes innocent human life. America First policies should focus on immediately halting the effort to normalize abortion-on-demand and on broadly recognizing the evidence of the risk posed to women."
That brief, published by the America First Policy Institute, laid out a case for reinstating the in-person dispensing requirement and tightening federal oversight of chemical abortions, positions that align closely with what pro-life organizations now expect from her at the FDA.
Overton's nomination followed the resignation of Dr. Marty Makary, who stepped down as FDA commissioner in May after clashing with Trump administration officials and Republican lawmakers. Pro-life activists had accused the agency under Makary of slow-walking its safety review of mifepristone, and his departure opened the door for a nominee more aligned with their priorities.
Trump praised Overton in announcing her nomination, calling her a "rockstar" in his administration who had worked directly with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz. He said she would deliver on priorities including faster cures, innovation, and lower drug prices, the Washington Examiner reported.
Overton holds a medical degree from the University of New Mexico and a doctoral degree in clinical investigation from Johns Hopkins University. She is board-certified in public health and general preventive medicine. During Trump's first term, she served as a White House fellow, and she has been a deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council during his second term, AP News reported.
Overton's confirmation hearing has not yet been scheduled. It is expected to take place after the Senate returns from its summer recess on September 14. And the path forward is far from clear.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, has expressed "strong concerns" about the nomination. Cassidy cited Overton's lack of managerial experience and her involvement in a Trump executive order that reduced vaccine recommendations for children. He called her participation in that order "almost disqualifying," Breitbart reported.
Republicans hold a narrow Senate majority and can afford to lose only three votes on the confirmation. Cassidy's opposition, given his committee chairmanship, could prove decisive.
Democrats have been blunter. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington called Overton "a far-right, anti-abortion extremist who has no business leading the FDA."
Lila Rose, head of the anti-abortion group Live Action, offered a different view, calling Overton's nomination "a chance to restore trust and put health over politics."
Americans United for Life, the organization Mize has led for two-and-a-half years, is the country's oldest pro-life organization, founded in 1971. It has long advocated against abortion, euthanasia, and assisted suicide. Mize's public support for Overton signals that the pro-life movement sees her nomination as a pivotal opportunity, and intends to hold her to it.
The FDA's mifepristone safety review sits unfinished, the drug's use continues to climb, and the woman chosen to lead the agency has already put her position on the record. Whether the Senate gives her the chance to act on it is another question. But the days of quiet deference on chemical abortion oversight appear to be ending.
