Free & Just: Opposition Letter to Congress for FDA Commissioner Nominee, Dr. Heidi Overton

September 24, 2026

Dear Senators, 

We are storytellers and advocates with Free & Just, a network of abortion patients, providers, and experts from across the country, committed to defending reproductive freedom. On behalf of Americans who are suffering in the wake of abortion bans nationwide, we write to express our deep concerns about the nomination of Dr. Heidi Overton to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Overton’s anti-abortion record showcases her commitment to banning medication abortion. She celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade as "a huge victory for life," dismissed federal legislation protecting abortion rights as "radicalism," and has promoted false claims about the safety of medication abortion that contradict more than two decades of evidence. Her nomination to this role is one of the greatest threats to abortion access and reproductive care since the Dobbs decision and would satisfy anti-abortion extremists who are working relentlessly to ban abortion nationwide — no matter the cost. 

The FDA is responsible for determining which medications our nation’s providers can prescribe and under what conditions. That makes this nomination consequential for everyone who relies on medication abortion — including patients who live in states where abortion remains legally protected. Mifepristone is safe, effective, and has been FDA-approved for over twenty years. As of December 2025, medication abortion has accounted for 65% of all US abortions, and one in four clinician-provided abortions were delivered through telehealth. Mifepristone specifically is used to support patients with their reproductive care and is even recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for miscarriage management. As FDA Commissioner, Heidi Overton would be able to directly impact if, when, and how medication abortion is dispensed across the country and her record clearly demonstrates a willingness to implement the anti-abortion agenda that extremists seek to enact nationally.

Instead of prioritizing the wellbeing of working families, improving public health infrastructure, and lowering health care costs, extremists and anti-abortion lawmakers are pushing dangerous misinformation about the safety of medication abortion that contradicts years of scientific evidence. The American Medical Association (AMA) has stated that serious adverse events occur in fewer than one-third of one percent of patients who take mifepristone, and continuing a pregnancy carries roughly 14 times the risk of death than abortion related complications. Reimposing in-person requirements, the AMA warns, would virtually eliminate telehealth access for rural, low-income, and underserved patients and force doctors to deliver worse care. In February 2026, ACOG led a coalition of 15 medical organizations in defending mifepristone's safety record in court. Yet Overton’s record demonstrates that she will not take any of these facts into serious consideration. She will ignore medical evidence to the detriment of patients' health and safety, exacerbating the already costly impact of abortion bans and the Dobbs decision.

While medication abortion remains available today, we are forced to navigate a complex and ever-changing legal landscape as extremists continue to chip away at access to care. Something that many of us know from experience is that access to medication abortion is equally as important as a patient’s ability to physically obtain it. Before joining the White House, Dr. Overton served as chief policy officer at the America First Policy Institute when the organization called for reinstating in-person dispensing requirements for mifepristone, prohibiting telehealth prescribing, and requiring in-person ultrasounds. The changes Overton seeks to make would create unnecessary barriers for people who cannot easily travel, take time away from work, arrange transportation or childcare, or reach an abortion provider in person. This will inevitably impact marginalized and rural communities disproportionately consistent with what we’ve seen with the overarching impacts of abortion bans since the Dobbs decision. 

Overton’s nomination should also be considered within the broader landscape surrounding abortion access right now. Nothing from anti-abortion lawmakers or this administration is happening in isolation. Anti-abortion extremists are pressuring federal agencies like the FDA, Department of Justice, and even the Environmental Protection Agency to abandon years of evidence-based research and ban medication abortion nationwide. While anti-abortion extremists and lawmakers are pressing the FDA to revoke approval of medication abortion and to appoint Overton, Attorney General Todd Blanche is on record committing to "make Dobbs permanent." The FDA commissioner’s decisions can affect patients in every state, including those where abortion remains legally protected. The weaponization of our democratic institutions to ban abortion care is an overstep in government intervention in personal medical decisions and emblematic of how far anti-abortion extremists will go to advance their dangerous agenda. 

As the Senate considers Dr. Overton’s nomination, her documented positions on abortion and medication abortion, as well as the potential implications of those positions for FDA policy, warrant close examination alongside the medical evidence and the experiences of the patients and providers who depend on this care. Data from Reproductive Freedom for All and Impact Research find that Americans across the political spectrum are nearly as opposed to a national abortion ban as they are to middle class tax increases and sweeping cuts to Medicaid. Still, anti-abortion extremists continue exploiting federal agencies to launch dangerous attacks on access to reproductive health care.

We urge you to closely scrutinize Dr. Overton’s record during the confirmation process and VOTE NO on advancing her nomination to lead the FDA. The American people deserve an FDA Commissioner who will prioritize science, evidence, and public health over extremist ideology. We call on you to reject this dangerous nomination. 

Bianca Allison  

Ashley Ammerman  

Tabatha Andonian  

Anne Angus  

Meagan Ankney  

Paige Ankney  

Lucie Arvallo  

Abiodun Badejo  

Symone Bailey  

Stephanie Baird  

Desiree Ballis  

Jenna Beckham  

Avery Davis Bell  

Julian Bell  

Amanda Benbow  

Caitlin Bernard  

Jessica Bernardo  

Alenna Beroza  

Abby Blum  

Megan Bond  

Sandee Booth  

Ashley Brandt  

Marcus Brandt  

Casey Britton  

Emma Burns  

Vilma Caballero  

CJ Calica  

Amber Calvin  

Kate Carson  

Erin Case  

Samantha Casiano  

Rev. Kelli Clement  

Elena Colon  

Darius Corbett  

Carol Cordell  

Lucy Couture  

margaret couture  

Emily Cuarenta  

Amanda D’Angelo  

Elizabeth (Ellie) Davis  

Lane Davis  

Lynne Davis  

Nancy Davis  

Lily deGroot  

Kate Dineen  

Rachel Dlouhy  

Stephanie Dworak  

Taylor Edwards  

Dawn Ericksen  

Oluwadamilola Fakoya  

Alliyson Feldmann  

Kristyn Fruit  

Bethany Galbraith  

Kim Jorgensen Gane 

Kayleigh Garcia Roffino  

Meta Getman  

Gabrielle Goodrick  

Miranda Graham  

Kelly Greeninger  

Parker Gresak  

Matthew Grocholske  

David Hackney  

Calla Hales  

Laura Hanks  

Sarah Hanline  

Sarah Hansen  

Callie Harper  

Deborah Harsha  

Amanda Harsin  

Jamie Heard  

Raven Heck  

Mia Henderson  

Morgan Homme  

Darcy Houchin  

Catherine Howard  

Amelia Huntsberger  

Heather Inman  

Charlotte Isenberg  

Carmella Jackson  

Lynne Jacobs  

Nandi Jacobs  

Srisha Jayakumar  

Ashley Jeanlus  

Kaitlyn Kash  

Elaine Kaster  

Marilyn Kepner  

Nicole King  

Cassandra Klewicki  

Megan Kling  

Maria Koegl  

Mychael Koegl  

Josh Layne  

Lacey Layne  

Susanna Levin  

Gabby Long  

Kristin Lyerly  

Laurel Marcinkus  

Mary Marcinkus  

Heather Martell  

Julie Martell  

Kenya Martin  

Tracy McCabe  

Lauren Miller  

Samantha Montgomery  

Sade Moore  

Ashwini Murthy  

Julie Nye  

Ariel Okhah 

Sukari Olawumi  

Donell Oliver  

Lauren Overman  

Neha Patil  

Dana Pellebon  

Grace Perry  

Keisha Person  

Allie Phillips  

Amber Ramirez  

Veronica Rand  

Megan Raymond  

Uma Reddy  

Lis Regula  

Aubrey Reinhardt  

Mia Robbins-Aguilar  

Georgia Rodriguez  

Marissa Rudd  

Melanie Rummel  

Lelani Russell  

Katie Rutland  

Maya Sabharwal  

Nikki Sapiro Vinckier  

Renee Saxon  

Sophie Schott  

Kelly Shannon  

Laura Shibley  

Melanie Shipley  

Paulall Sinclair  

Jean St. John  

Kimberly Stathas  

Leila Staton  

Blair Stewart  

Elisabeth Stovall  

Matthew Taft  

Danielle Tallafuss  

Sara Teichholtz  

Debra Teplin  

Karen Thompson  

Turiya Tomlin-Randall  

Lauren Tran  

Cori Tucker  

Jessica Van Wyen  

Anusha Viswanathan  

Nicole Walker  

Stefanie Wang  

Elise Warren

Malachi White  

Shanette Williams  

Kathryn Williamson  

Mimi Zieman  

Elizabeth Zordani  

Amanda Zurawski