FDA Nominee Overton Says All U.S. Vaccines Safe as Senator Cassidy Presses on Shots
Reuters, September 24, 2026
“Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington repeatedly pressed Overton on whether she personally agreed that the abortion pill mifepristone is safe and effective. Overton declined to give a direct answer, saying her job would be to abide by the statutory standards for safety and efficacy. ‘I know that it has met the safety and efficacy standard according to the FDA review,’ she said. Murray said Overton had published an article three years ago describing medication abortion as dangerous to women. The senator called it ‘alarming’ that a nominee would contradict decades of scientific evidence. Overton said she had always been driven by data. Murray also pressed Overton on whether an intrauterine device, or IUD, is birth control rather than an abortion. Overton twice declined to answer directly, saying she would be ‘fully briefed’ on the agency’s prior decisions if confirmed. Murray called the non-answer ‘outrageous.’ If confirmed, Overton would inherit an FDA review of mifepristone that abortion-rights groups say is politically motivated and that could lead to tighter restrictions on a drug used by millions of women since its US approval 26 years ago. The agency faces an October 7 deadline to update a federal court on its progress.”
Abortion Is on the Ballot Again as Post-Roe Policies Continue To Evolve
NPR, September 22, 2026
“After Missouri voters added abortion protections to the state constitution in 2024, Kelly McCoomb decided to keep her yard sign supporting the measure in the basement of her suburban St. Louis home. Abortion access is important to McCoomb. She wants her daughter to grow up in a state where the option is available if needed, and the sign was a keepsake from the day Missourians voted to reverse the state’s near-total ban. McCoomb also couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d need to display the sign in her yard again soon. ‘I have little faith in our Missouri government,’ McCoomb said, sitting on her front porch. Sure enough, just two years later, the state’s Republican-dominated legislature is asking Missouri voters to overturn the abortion protections they recently supported. The conflicting measures even have the same title: Amendment 3.”
How Abortion Politics Is Blocking Progress in Women’s Health Care
PBS, September 21, 2026
“For more than 25 years, mifepristone has been approved for abortion in the U.S. But mifepristone and a similar drug have also been proven to treat conditions like uterine fibroids and endometriosis. As anti-abortion groups lobby to further restrict these drugs, Special correspondent Sarah Varney and producer Rachel Wellford take a look at these treatments.”
East Tennessee Couple Forced To Travel for Life-Saving Procedure Due to State’s Abortion Law Restrictions
WIBR 10 News, September 18, 2026
“Planning and preparing to welcome a new baby into the world can be the most joyful yet overwhelming time for parents. But for one Powell family, their excitement turned into their worst nightmare. They say Tennessee’s law, enacted after the overturning of Roe v Wade, complicated an already heartbreaking pregnancy. Back in May, the Chancey family was getting ready to welcome a baby girl. They already named her Daisy. She would be Amanda Jablonbski and Brandon Chancey’s second child, a younger sister to 5-year-old Dallas.”
Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Over Title X Grant Funding for Pregnancy Prevention Efforts
Stateline, September 18, 2026
“A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit challenging changes to the way grants are awarded under a program that provides funding for services such as family planning and reproductive health wellness exams. The National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association and the Family Health Council of Central Pennsylvania filed the lawsuit in June, alleging that U.S. Health and Human Services was politicizing the Title X grant funding program and violating the intent of the law with its new process for evaluating applications. U.S. District Judge Jennifer P. Wilson, an appointee of President Donald Trump, said the family planning organizations that filed the lawsuit did not present a “sufficiently concrete harm” in their case and dismissed it. ‘… What plaintiffs face is uncertainty over how to best apply for a federal grant, and that is not a sufficient hardship to create a justiciable controversy,’ Wilson wrote in her ruling. Stateline previously reported that according to the complaint, the case was initially assigned to U.S. District Judge Yvette Kane, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, but the case was reassigned the same day to Wilson.”
ICYMI: In Case You Missed It
¡Hola mi gente! We need to talk about something that makes me want to flip a table every single time it comes up: the gender pay gap. Not the vague, abstract version we hear about once a year around Equal Pay Day, but the real, dollars-and-cents version that’s quietly draining wealth from Latinas and Black women over an entire career.
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Note: The information contained in this publication reflects media coverage of women’s health issues and does not necessarily reflect the views of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
