Senator pushes Marty McCurry on abortion pills and vaccines

During a confirmation hearing with Dr. Marty McCurry on Thursday, the senator focused on the safety of abortion drugs, with Republican lawmakers urging him to restrict access and demand that Democrats maintain current availability.

President Trump's candidate, Dr. McCurry, who leads the Food and Drug Administration, shares Republican concerns about current policies issued during the Biden policy, showing that he has expanded access by allowing people to access pills without in-person medical appointments.

Several Democrats pointed to a number of studies showing that drugs are safe. Dr. McCurry told members of the Senate Health Committee, who held the hearing, he would consider the safety and policy for the pills in question.

He said, “To see the data closely and meet with professional career scientists who reviewed the data at the FDA, and to build a coalition of experts to review the ongoing data that needs to be collected.”

The hearing also touched on the vaccine, along with several lawmakers, including Sen. Bill Cassidy, chairman of the Louisiana Republican Committee, as well as several lawmakers, including reasons to ask whether the advisory committee meeting on next year's flu vaccines has been cancelled recently for weeks, and that they would later be held. He and others highlighted the flu panel met each year, and some reminded Dr. McCurry that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who oversees the FDA as health secretary, has pledged transparency in agency decision-making.

Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, called the cancellation an “unprecedented danger” after decades of annual meetings.

Dr. McCurry repeatedly reminded the senators that he was not responsible for disposing of the meeting. He also suggested that there should be a more broad review of the role of the Vaccine Committee, which convenes experts to advise the FDA, saying there was a “big difference” between “requesting for an eighth Covid booster for every 12-year-old girl” and “rubber stamping” and “major differences” targeting influenza-type panels targeting global health.

He did not provide details about the schools or organizations that require children to have annual Covid boosters.

He was also asked about the measles vaccine in light of the current outbreak in Texas, in which one child died and 22 people were hospitalized.

“Vaccinations save lives,” Dr. McCurry said. “We believe that children who die from vaccine-preventable diseases are a modern tragedy.”

However, he was not taken from the food by Sen. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat from Colorado. Dr. McCurry said supplements can improve conditions like malnutrition, and that it is linked to poor outcomes of measles outbreaks.

Lawmakers also warned of the Trump administration's orders of staff cuts and employment impact workers inspecting food supply safety, urging Dr. McCurry to review staff layoffs whose pay is supported by industry costs.

They have also been exposed to work related to chemicals such as dyes in the food supply. Dr. McCurry agreed to the study and called for European products with fewer additives as an area of ​​review.

Among other issues raised during the hearing, the troublesome issue of illegal steam products from China with unknown ingredients was highlighted by Sen. Ashley Moody, a Republican from Florida.

The steam has a high level of nicotine, promotes thousands of puffs, and has a strawberry lemonade-like flavor that is appealing to young people.

Moody said he was concerned that the product was banned within China.

“Anyone who comes to be the head of the FDA, this is one of the issues you have to deal with right away,” said Moody, formerly the Florida Attorney General.

Blocking the flow of fraudulent vapes was a priority for major tobacco companies that followed the FDA rules for US tobacco and menthol flavors and steam sold. This is a priority that public health groups also share. Dr. McCurry said he will address the issues of the FDA's Law Enforcement Department and the Department of Justice.

Throughout the hearing, several senators returned to overseeing abortion drugs and FDA policy changes during the long history of medication abortions over more than 20 years.

Some of the standard two-drug drug regimens currently in use in nearly two-thirds of abortion – have been the focus of anti-abortion efforts since the Supreme Court overturned the national rights of abortion in 2022.

In a lawsuit filed against the FDA and other efforts, abortion opponents have requested that the agency either withdraw Mifepristone's approval or refuse restrictions to prevent abortion drugs from being prescribed by telemedicine and mailed to patients.

The Biden administration abandoned the in-person dispensing requirements in 2021. Sen. Maggie Haggin, a New Hampshire Democrat, said he was worried that Dr. McCurry would “unilaterally overturn data that currently exists for political purposes and political reasons.”

Dr. McCurry repeated that he had no preconceptions and would look into the data. “I wish I had hedged a little more today,” Hassan shot.

Mifepristone, which blocks progesterone, a hormone necessary for pregnancy, has long been regulated by the FDA under a particularly strict programme that applies only to a small number of drugs.

For years after its approval in 2000, mifepristone could only be prescribed by a doctor, and patients had to attend three in-person doctor visits to take the medication and take it. In 2016 and 2021, we made several changes, including the ability of nurses and other healthcare providers to prescribe mifepristone and the need for patients to pick up the medication directly, based on updated scientific evidence.

Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, said the policy change to remove the requirement for in-person appointments Roev. He argued that it was made in anticipation of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Wade.

However, reproductive experts and organizations have long argued that this requirement is not necessary for safety, and the FDA has already allowed women to take medications at home without being supervised by doctors. Covid Pandemic has increased the importance of making bills available by mail for people as many patients were unable to visit clinics or abortions.

Coming further by Mr. Holly, Dr. McCurry showed she shared the concerns of her abortion enemies and said she knew doctors who like to give medicine in their offices.

Cassidy closed the hearing on direct request. It involves returning the policy to the first Trump administration and requesting in-person visits.

The FDA has around 18,000 staff and a budget of around $7.2 billion. The agency has a huge regulatory authority for prescription and over-the-counter drugs, medical devices, cigarettes and products that contain approximately 80% of the food supply. It also regulates artificial intelligence software used to scan medical images. This is an area where agents have been rejected as being too generous in approval.

If confirmed, Dr. McCurry will first encounter tension among staff members who have been whipped up by the Trump administration's aggressive measures to rebuild federal bureaucracy in recent weeks.

Staff have endured the first round of about 700 layoffs and decimate a product review team that ensures the safety of medical devices such as surgical robots and systems that supply insulin to people with diabetes. These shootings were followed by several return of work, but many people in the tobacco sector reviewed the safety of the new product and lost its position was not recalled.

Asked about the layoffs, Dr. McCurry said he would consider recent HR decisions in support of efforts to increase efficiency.

Pam Belluck contributed the report.