Abortion-rights advocates have hit back at Florida Representative Kat Cammack after she blamed the fearmongering about the state’s near-total abortion ban for doctors hesitating to treat her ectopic pregnancy last year.

Cammack, an abortion opponent who co-chairs the House Pro-Life Caucus, told the Wall Street Journal that doctors had initially resisted giving her a drug needed to end her ectopic pregnancy in May 2024 because they feared they could face criminal charges or lose their medical licenses under Florida’s restrictive abortion law.

But a spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida told Newsweek that the delays Cammack “experienced are not the result of advocates defending abortion access—they are a direct consequence of Florida lawmakers passing extreme, confusing, and politically motivated abortion bans.”

Newsweek has contacted a spokesperson for Cammack for comment via email.

The Context

Abortion has been banned at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions, in 13 Republican-controlled states after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade three years ago.

In Florida, it is barred after the first six weeks, before many know they are pregnant. The ban took effect on May 1, 2024, and those who violate the law face up to five years in prison, fines of up to $5,000 and loss of medical licenses.

The law did not ban treatment of ectopic pregnancies, which occur when a fetus implants outside of the uterus and has no room to grow. If not treated, such pregnancies can rupture, causing organ damage, hemorrhaging or even death.

A report from the nonprofit Physicians for Human Rights in September 2024 said the ban created an “unworkable legal landscape” and that doctors had reported that ER staff were afraid to provide methotrexate to patients as it was an “abortive agent.” The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration then issued guidance to address what it called “misinformation” about the state’s abortion law, stating that abortion is permissible at any state of pregnancy in Florida to save the life and health of the mother, including in cases of ectopic or molar pregnancies and when there is premature rupture of membranes.

What To Know

Cammack told the Journal that doctors had estimated she was just five weeks into an ectopic pregnancy, there was no heartbeat and her life was at risk.

But she said hospital staff were worried about giving her a shot of methotrexate to help expel the pregnancy even though it was legal in her case. Cammack said she did not blame the Florida law for what she experienced, but messaging from abortion-rights advocates.

“It was absolute fearmongering at its worst,” she told the newspaper.

But abortion-rights advocates say it is the law that is causing problems.

“These laws are deliberately vague, creating a climate of fear and confusion among doctors who face prison time, fines, and the loss of their medical licenses for doing their jobs. That’s not a messaging problem—it’s a legislative failure,” the ACLU of Florida spokesperson said.

They pointed to the 2024 report from Physicians for Human Rights, saying it “explicitly names Florida’s extreme abortion ban as the source of the unworkable legal landscape that has stifled doctors from providing lifesaving care in the state, making it clear where the confusion—and the danger—truly lies.”

The spokesperson added that if a ballot measure that would have protected abortion rights in Florida’s state constitution had “not faced unprecedented government opposition and a 60% threshold to pass, the law in Florida would be much clearer, and women, including Rep. Cammack, would be much safer.”

Lauren Miller and Ashley Brandt, who were among the plaintiffs that sued Texas being denied abortions in their state despite developing dangerous pregnancy complications, also called out Cammack for her comments.

“As Rep. Cammack learned herself: there’s no such thing as a no-risk pregnancy, best-case scenario is that you are low risk,” Miller told Newsweek.

Brandt added that Cammack’s situation shows how all women face risks in states with abortion bans.

“Just because you are anti-abortion or vote Republican, it does not make you immune to the dangers and complications that come with being pregnant,” she told Newsweek.

What People Are Saying

Cammack told the Journal that abortion-rights advocates may view her experience differently, saying: “There will be some comments like, ‘Well, thank God we have abortion services,’ even though what I went through wasn’t an abortion.”

The ACLU of Florida spokesperson told Newsweek: “All Floridians deserve the freedom to get timely, compassionate medical care—without judgment, delay, or fear of punishment. We stand with patients and providers across the state who are navigating this dangerous and unjust landscape—and we’ll continue fighting to restore the rights these bans have stripped away.”

Lauren Miller told Newsweek: “As those of us in the abortion access advocacy space have said for years: exceptions do not work in the real world. I understand that it can be hard for someone to admit that they are the architect of their own misfortune, but I wish her peace on her journey of reconciling that her previously held beliefs and actions were not just wrong, but dangerous to herself and others.”

Ashley Brandt told Newsweek: “Our focus should be on allowing our medical professionals to care for their patients to the best of their ability. Unfortunately, anti-abortion laws only confuse and restrict health care providers from efficiently treating women experiencing complications during pregnancy. The consequences to that have been tragic.”

What’s Next

Abortion-rights advocates say they will continue to fight to restore the rights that recent bans have taken away. Cammack, who is expecting her first child this summer, said she shared her story hoping that it would help those on opposing sides find common ground.