Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced pushback on his views on abortion (and other issues) during his confirmation hearingfor Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Wednesday with the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.Since his nomination, President Donald Trumps highly controversial pick to head the nations top health post has elicited wide-ranging criticism for his radical views on a whole host of health issues, from vaccines and the U.S. healthcare system to our nations food supply. As Fast Company previously reported, Kennedy has been accused of makingnumerous false and misleading scientific claims, including those relating to autism and raw milk. If confirmed, he would oversee 13 federal agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, agencies regulating many of these important health issues.Democrats, including SenatorBernie Sanders of Vermont, pressed the nominee hard on his past support for abortion access and recent flip-flop against a womans right to choose. It remains unclear whether Kennedy has the votes, particularly from Democrats, to clinch the confirmation.Sanders quoted RFK Jr.s own 2023 support for womens autonomy over their bodies, adding, I have never seen any major politician flip on that issue quite as quickly as you did when Trump asked you to become HHS secretary.Kennedy replied, Senator, I believe and Ive always believed that every abortion is a tragedy. He refused to answer Sanderss question on whether healthcare is a human right.Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat from Nevada, asked RFK Jr. if pregnant women whose lives were in danger should be allowed to have emergency abortions in states where it is banned. His response: I dont know.RFK Jr. ran against Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election as an independent candidate and after dropping out of the race, endorsed Trump (after reported conversations that Trump would reward him with a cabinet position). The son of formerU.S. Attorney General and SenatorRobert F. Kennedy, he is a member of the prominent Kennedy family, longtime Democrats, most of whom have been quick to say publicly he is unfit for office.His first cousin, Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy, went one step further, writing a letter to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, urging the Senate to reject his nomination, referring to RFK Jr. as a predator and arguing that siblings and cousins who Bobby encouraged down the path of substance abuse suffered addiction, illness, and death.She read the letter ina video posted on Xby her son, Jack Schlossberg, a popular social media political commentator, who also has strongly denounced the nomination.