When Rep. Kat Cammack was rushed to the hospital with an ectopic pregnancy last year, her doctors hesitated to give her the life-saving medication she needed. Why? Because Florida’s six-week abortion ban made them fear legal consequences.
The delay wasn’t long—but in cases like these, every hour counts. Had her fallopian tube ruptured, Cammack could have hemorrhaged to death. And yet, in a recent Wall Street Journal interview, she didn’t criticize the vague, punitive law that put her care in question. She blamed “left-wing fearmongering.”
It’s the kind of cognitive dissonance that defines today’s Republican approach to reproductive health: write laws so confusing that doctors are afraid to act—then blame the chaos on the people trying to protect patients.
Florida Rep Kat Cammack Faced a Life-Threatening Delay—Here’s What an Ectopic Pregnancy Really Means
Ectopic pregnancies are nonviable, meaning there is zero chance of carrying them to term. Most occur in the fallopian tube. If left untreated, they can rupture—causing massive internal bleeding and, often, death. There is no such thing as a “healthy” ectopic pregnancy, and there is no moral or medical ambiguity about treatment: you end the pregnancy immediately or risk the pregnant person’s life.
That’s what Cammack needed. But Florida’s law, like many Republican-crafted abortion bans, makes no explicit exception for ectopic pregnancy and carries felony-level penalties for doctors who perform “unlawful terminations.” It creates a legal minefield where providers hesitate—even when the science is clear.
As OB-GYN Dr. Natalie DiCenzo put it:
“Ruptured ectopic pregnancy is the leading cause of pregnancy-related death in early pregnancy… The medical recommendation is to end the pregnancy as soon as possible.”
And yet, the law slowed everything down. Because doctors didn’t know if giving Cammack methotrexate—a drug that stops ectopic tissue from growing—would get them sued or arrested.
See also: Life-Threatening Pregnancy? Trump’s Emergency Abortion Ban Puts Pregnant Patients at Risk
The Irony Is the Point
Cammack’s survival wasn’t guaranteed. And it’s not hard to imagine how this story would be told if she had died. But instead of confronting how her own party’s policies nearly killed her, she accused abortion advocates of overreacting.
“The left calls this abortion. It wasn’t,” she said.
But the point isn’t what you call it. The point is that anti-abortion laws, including the one she backed, treat all pregnancy care with suspicion. They make doctors pause instead of act. They criminalize treatment. And they’re working exactly as designed.
As Grace Howard, justice studies professor at San Jose State, noted:
“Her providers weren’t afraid of liberals. They were afraid of breaking the law—and of losing their licenses, their livelihoods, even their freedom.”
See also: When Choice Ends: How Abortion Bans Impact Black, Hispanic, and Low-Income Women
She Had Power. She Chose Denial
Cammack had a chance to use her story to spotlight the dangers of anti-abortion legislation. Instead, she chose to uphold the narrative that almost ended her life.
Her case isn’t unique. In Texas, women have been denied emergency care for ectopic pregnancies. In Missouri and Ohio, GOP lawmakers have proposed laws that would make it a felony to end one—despite the fact that such pregnancies are never viable and are always dangerous.
Cammack’s story should be a wake-up call. Instead, it’s being used to hit snooze. Thankfully she lived. But instead of demanding change, she doubled down on a system designed to sacrifice women like her. And next time, someone else won’t be as lucky as her.
See also: Pregnant Woman Declared Brain-Dead in Georgia Is Kept on Life Support Due to Strict Abortion Laws
