Lisa Murkowski
128:51 - 130:06
“we're going to be in a very challenging position in a very rural state like Alaska when, if, if in fact the move to require in-person dispensing of the medication as opposed to telehealth appointments is the direction. You have effectively taken about 80% of our state and put them in a really challenging— excuse me, 80% of the communities in the state and put them in a very challenging position in terms of access to providers, access to to this FDA-approved drug.”
- Speaker
- Lisa Murkowski
- Timestamp
- 128:51 – 130:06
- Transcript
- Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Hearings to examine the nomination of Heidi Overton
- Community
- Alaska News
- Captured at
- September 24, 2026
From the transcript
And I think we're seeing this with, with mifepristone that have already gone through the scientific review process, have been shown to be safe and effective. As I mentioned, we are— we're going to be in a very challenging position in a very rural state like Alaska when, if, if in fact the move to require in-person dispensing of the medication as opposed to telehealth appointments is the direction. You have effectively taken about 80% of our state and put them in a really challenging— excuse me, 80% of the communities in the state and put them in a very challenging position in terms of access to providers, access to to this FDA-approved drug. So I can go down this same rabbit trail and probably get the exact same very specific technical responses that you have provided the committee, but know that this is something that I'm very concerned about, and I am concerned about the political pressure that does come to bear on the scientific review process when you have directives that are said This is an area that we want to revisit and find a reason. Now, I'm not going to ask you to respond to that.
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