Planned Parenthood Removes Dr. Leana Wen as President

The largest abortion provider in the US has fired its president.

The Hill reports Planned Parenthood removed Dr. Leana Wen as its president, less than a year after she was chosen to lead the organization.

Wen tweeted she learned of the board's "secret meeting" in which she found out she had been terminated.

"I am leaving because the new Board Chairs and I have philosophical differences over the direction and future of Planned Parenthood," Wen said in a statement.

"I will always stand with Planned Parenthood, as I continue my life's work and mission of caring for and fighting for women, families, and communities," she added.

Planned Parenthood Action Fund's board of directors thanked Wen in a statement. 

"We thank Dr. Leana Wen for her service to Planned Parenthood in such a pivotal time and extend our best wishes for her continued success," board Chairwomen Aimee Cunningham and Jennie Rosenthal said.

Wen will be succeeded by Alexis McGill Johnson, a board member, who will serve as acting president. Wen was appointed to the executive position last fall after the departure of Cecile Richards

Wen was the first physician to lead the abortion provider in decades. Her departure comes as the battle over abortion heats up in state legislatures and at the federal level.

The Trump administration has also cut millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood through changes in the Title X family planning program. 

As CBN News reported, the administration on Monday told taxpayer-funded family planning clinics to stop referring women to abortion providers immediately.

Planned Parenthood and other family-planning providers are suing the Trump administration in federal court to overturn the regulations, but the Health and Human Services department said no judicial orders currently prevent it from enforcing the rule while the litigation proceeds.