GOP Rep. Kat Cammack Oddly Faults Dems, Not Florida’s Abortion Law, After Ectopic Pregnancy Almost Kills Her

Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., revealed she experienced an ectopic pregnancy last year that nearly killed her. She said doctors hesitated to take necessary steps to end the pregnancy due to the state’s abortion ban, a delay she blamed on fearmongering from the left as opposed to the right-wing legislation that resulted in the ban.

When did Cammack find out she had an ectopic pregnancy?

According to The Wall Street Journal, Cammack went to the emergency room in May 2024, about five weeks into her ectopic pregnancy. Doctors told her there was no heartbeat and that her life was at risk.

However, due to Florida’s six-week abortion ban, doctors hesitated to administer a shot of methotrexate, the medication needed to terminate the pregnancy, out of fear of losing their medical licenses or going to jail.

Cammack said she looked up the state’s abortion law on her phone and showed it to hospital staff. She also contacted the governor’s office, but no one could help her. After several hours, doctors agreed to give her the medication. The representative has since gotten pregnant again and is due sometime this summer.

Cammack blames left-wing “fearmongering” for care delay

As co-chair of the House Pro-Life Caucus, Cammack, 37, remains anti-abortion but supports the procedure in cases of rape and incest as well as when the mother’s life is at risk. While the life-threatening condition could have killed her, she said she believes the hospital’s hesitation stemmed from Democrats’ opposition to abortion laws, which she said has frightened medical workers into fearing severe consequences for performing abortions.

“It was absolute fearmongering at its worst,” Cammack told The Wall Street Journal, noting that she would face backlash from abortion-rights advocates over her conservative views despite having the procedure.

“There will be some comments like, ‘Well, thank God we have abortion services,’ even though what I went through wasn’t an abortion.”

Florida’s abortion ban took effect on May 1, 2024, stating that abortions are illegal after six weeks of pregnancy.

Medical professionals and legal representatives speak out

Molly Duane, a senior attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said the law exempts ectopic pregnancies from abortion restrictions, but medical workers may be unsure how to apply it, The Wall Street Journal reported.

She told The Wall Street Journal that pro-abortion supporters are often to blame in these instances, which is considered the “playbook of antiabortion extremists that for decades have been blaming and villainizing doctors.” 

Dr. Alison Haddock, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, told The Wall Street Journal that doctors in states with abortion restrictions often worry “whether their clinical judgment will stand should there be any prosecution.”

She described early pregnancy care, including ectopic pregnancies, as a “medically complicated space” marked by uncertainty, calling it “a real stress point for a lot of our physicians.”

Cammack said hopes to find common ground among women across the political spectrum to ensure they receive the medical care they need.

“I would stand with any woman — Republican or Democrat — and fight for them to be able to get care in a situation where they are experiencing a miscarriage and an ectopic” pregnancy, she said.