Leana Wen, President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America

In a secret meeting, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America terminated Leana Wen's employment 

The President of Planned Parenthood has been forced out by the organisation’s board after only eight months in the job.

 Dr Leana Wen tweeted yesterday: "I just learned that the @PPFA Board ended my employment at a secret meeting. We were engaged in good faith negotiations about my departure based on philosophical differences over the direction and future of Planned Parenthood."

 Planned Parenthood tersely confirmed Dr Wen’s removal, saying: "Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund announce Dr. Leana Wen’s departure from the organization. We thank Dr. Wen for her service and wish her the best in her next venture." They announced that Alexis McGill Johnson, a former board member, has been named temporary president "effective immediately".

Planned Parenthood Priorities

 There was much fanfare about Dr Wen being the first doctor to lead Planned Parenthood when she replaced Cecile Richards last year. However, it seems to have been her focus on healthcare that led to problems with the abortion giant. In a letter to colleagues posted on twitter, Dr Wen said: "I came to Planned Parenthood to run a national healthcare organisation and to advocate for a broad range of public health policies that affect our patients’ health."

 However, she said: "The new Board leadership has determined that the priority of Planned Parenthood moving forward is to double down on abortion rights advocacy." According the New York Times, sources said "there had been internal strife over [Wen’s] management" and Planned Parenthood leaders believed the group "needed a more aggressive political leader to fight the efforts to roll back access to abortions."

Leaving the industry 

 Live Action says that this isn’t the first time that a president has been fired for trying to reinvent Planned Parenthood as a legitimate health care provider. In the 1990’s, another president and former nurse, Pamela J. Maraldo, was forced to resign after she rolled out a "reinvention plan" to focus more on actual health care than on abortion. As Live Action president and founder Lila Rose tweeted in response, "Planned Parenthood’s priority will ALWAYS be abortion. Not their staff, not the health of women, not basic human decency. It’s why hundreds of workers are leaving the abortion industry, & why millions more Americans are becoming pro-life."