How Trump’s new FDA pick could be monumental in the fight for life

In the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s appointment of Dr. Heidi Overton, a medical doctor with a history of fighting for life, as head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), pro-life groups are urging her to end mail-order abortion.

Since January 2025 and up until now, Overton has worked as deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy. Before that , she spent more than three years at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), a conservative think tank.

On Aug. 19, Trump appointed her to head the FDA, though she will need to be confirmed by the Senate first, which is likely given the Republican majority.

She has a doctorate in clinical investigation from Johnson Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as well as a medical degree from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.

Overton has been outspoken about the dangers of chemical abortion for women and babies, according to a 2023 AFPI brief she authored where she criticized federal policy that made abortion pills available via telehealth.

“Abortion is corrosive to children, women, and society broadly because it devalues and extinguishes innocent human life,” Overton wrote in 2023.…