The president of Planned Parenthood said Tuesday afternoon that she had been dumped as leader of the nation’s largest abortion provider less than nine months into the job.
“I just learned that the @PPFA Board ended my employment at a secret meeting,” tweeted Leana Wen. She was the group’s first Asian American leader.
Ms. Wen said she and the board, before Tuesday’s dismissal, had been “engaged in good faith negotiations about my departure based on philosophical differences over the direction and future of Planned Parenthood.”
Without elaboration, Planned Parenthood announced Wen’s departure via tweet, thanking her for her service and wishing her luck.
According to The New York Times, which broke the story, Ms. Wen was removed after having taken leadership of the group in November, because she was not a zealous enough public advocate.
“The group felt it needed a more aggressive political leader to fight the efforts to roll back access to abortions,” The Times wrote, citing “two people familiar with the decision.”
Her departure came as the Trump administration announced it would start enforcing new rules that ban taxpayer-funded family planning clinics referring women for abortions. Planned Parenthood, the largest recipient of those funds, says it will not abide by those rules.
Ms. Wen was the first doctor to lead Planned Parenthood in 50 years, according to BuzzFeed.
The Times also reported that Alexis McGill Johnson, the co-founder of the Perception Institute, will take over as acting president and CEO of both the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
The former entity provides medical services while the latter is a political lobbying group.
⦁ This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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