Kat Cammack and Florida’s abortion law
A June 2025 article by Katy Ferek in the Wall Street Journal, “Republican’s Life-Threatening Pregnancy Collided With Florida’s Abortion Politics,” looks at an instance that occurred in May 2024 when Rep. Kat Cammack experienced an ectopic pregnancy and dealt with a medical team hesitant about how to proceed. The Wall Street journal framed Cammack’s story as Florida’s abortion ban creating a life-threatening situation. Other articles claim Cammack “nearly died.” Countless online commenters have argued Cammack (who is pro-life) should have been denied the care they assume she wants to deny other people. As usual, this is nonsense.
Here’s the timeline:
- May 1, 2024: Florida implemented its 6-week Heartbeat Protection Act.
- May 2, 2024: Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration initiated rulemaking in order to “safeguard against any immediate harm that could come to pregnant women due to disinformation.” Specifically the Agency emphasized, among other things, that “the treatment of an ectopic pregnancy is not an abortion.”
- May 31, 2024: Cammack went to the emergency room with an ectopic pregnancy. Medical providers initially hesitated to give her methotrexate due to uncertainty over the then-new abortion law. Several hours later they provided the medication.
- September 19, 2024: Florida lawmakers issued further guidance on emergency exceptions to abortion laws, reiterating the May 2 rulemaking.
- June 22, 2025: Ferek wrote about Cammack’s story.
Ferek claimed Cammack’s pregnancy could have killed her “at any moment,” but then described Cammack receiving a shot of methotrexate to treat her ectopic pregnancy. The standard protocol for single-dose methotrexate includes checking the woman’s HCG levels four days later to determine baseline HCG, then comparing HCG levels to those on Day 7 and up to Day 14. If her HCG levels haven’t dropped enough by Day 14, only then is surgical intervention recommended.
In other words, Cammack waited a matter of hours before beginning a weeks-long standard ectopic pregnancy treatment.
Cammack believes her medical team’s initial hesitation to provide clearly legal treatment stemmed from fearmongering, rather than the actual text of Florida law. The sensational reporting of her case illustrates her point.
If you appreciate our work and would like to help, one of the most effective ways to do so is to become a monthly donor. You can also give a one time donation here or volunteer with us here.
