Overton can define strong pro-life leadership at the FDA

President Donald Trump’s nomination of Dr. Heidi Overton to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is encouraging news for pro-life Americans. Her record suggests that after years in which pro-life concerns too often seemed secondary in the agency’s decisions, the FDA may finally have a leader prepared to align its work with the president’s commitment to protecting women and unborn children.

In public life, personnel is policy. But personnel becomes policy only when principles are translated into decisions. Overton’s confirmation hearing, therefore, offers more than an opportunity to examine her qualifications. It gives her an opportunity to define what strong pro-life leadership at the FDA will mean in practice.