Florida Republican Congresswoman Kat Cammack recently revealed that she nearly died due to delays in treating her ectopic pregnancy in 2024.
The delay happened because of Florida’s strict abortion law, which bans most abortions after six weeks. This same law was supported by Cammack herself.
Rep. Kat Cammack nearly died under the abortion law she supports
Highlights
- Rep. Kat Cammack nearly died from a delayed ectopic pregnancy treatment due to Florida's strict abortion law.
- Florida's abortion ban scares doctors from using methotrexate, delaying urgent care for life-threatening ectopic pregnancies.
- Cammack blames Democrats for fearmongering around abortion, despite her own near-fatal experience under the law she backs.
- After Cammack's story, Florida regulators issued new guidelines clarifying emergency care under abortion restrictions.
- Medical experts warn vague abortion laws cause confusion, risking patient lives and penalizing doctors treating pregnancy emergencies.
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On May 31, 2024, Cammack went to a Florida hospital for an emergency. Doctors discovered that she had an ectopic pregnancy—a serious and life-threatening condition where a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, usually in a fallopian tube. This type of pregnancy cannot survive and can be fatal for the mother if not treated quickly.
A doctor warned Cammack, “If this ruptures, it’ll kill you.”
Yet, despite the risk, the hospital staff hesitated to give her the medication methotrexate required to end the ectopic pregnancy.
Florida’s abortion ban had gone into effect earlier that month, and doctors were afraid of losing their licenses or even going to jail.
Cammack was five weeks pregnant. The embryo had no heartbeat, and her life was in danger. Still, she had to pull up the law on her phone to convince the doctors. She even tried calling Governor Ron DeSantis for help, but couldn’t reach him. Eventually, the staff agreed to treat her.
Since then, Florida regulators have issued new guidelines to clarify how the law applies in medical emergencies.
Cammack supports abortion bans except in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is at risk. She is now pregnant again and expecting a baby in August.
Cammack, who is co-chairing the House Pro-Life Caucus, did not blame the law for the incident. Instead, she accused Democrats and reproductive rights advocates of creating fear through “fearmongering.”
“It was absolute fearmongering at its worst,” Cammack told The Wall Street Journal. “There will be some comments like, ‘Well, thank God we have abortion services,’ even though what I went through wasn’t an abortion,” she said.
In an interview with the publication, she spoke publicly about her miscarriage for the first time.
“I would stand with any woman—Republican or Democrat—and fight for them to be able to get care in a situation where they are experiencing a miscarriage and an ectopic pregnancy,” she said.
Further, she blamed the political environment when it comes to discussing how to improve women’s healthcare.
“We have turned the conversation about women’s healthcare into two camps: pink hats and pink ribbons,” she said.
“It’s either breast cancer or abortion.”
Image credits: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
She also spoke about her mother’s story, narrating how she, a stroke survivor, was told by doctors to terminate her pregnancy, as it put her at risk of another stroke. She went on to deliver Cammack without problems.
After the interview with WSJ, Cammack’s offices were recently evacuated due to “imminent death threats” against her and her family.
“Since then [the WSJ interview], we’ve [received] thousands of hate-filled messages and dozens of credible threats from pro-abortion activists, which law enforcement is actively investigating,” Cammack said on X.
Medical experts caution that the very laws championed by many anti-abortion lawmakers, including those that Cammack supports, are creating confusion within the medical community.
“The text of anti-abortion legislation is vague and often does not include explicit exceptions for treatment of ectopic pregnancy or other medical emergencies, yet also carries significant penalties such as felony charges or loss of medical license,” Dr. Natalie DiCenzo, an OB-GYN, told HuffPost.
Vague anti-abortion laws confuse doctors, who risk losing their license or being jailed
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She explained that ectopic pregnancies are highly dangerous. “The medical recommendation is to end the pregnancy as soon as possible to prevent the risk of rupture,” DiCenzo said.
Methotrexate is a standard and safe way to treat unruptured ectopic pregnancies, but laws like Florida’s make its use risky for medical providers.
In September 2024, Physicians for Human Rights released a report about the risks of Florida’s strict abortion law.
The report included a story from an OB-GYN where a patient’s treatment for an ectopic pregnancy was delayed because hospital staff were worried about using methotrexate, which was seen as an “abortion drug.”
Most Florida voters backed a measure to restore abortion rights in November 2024, but it fell short of the 60% needed to pass. After that, conservative lawmakers pushed even stricter laws, including one that lets people sue doctors or anyone who helps with an abortion.
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This month, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration revoked a 2022 Biden-era guideline requiring hospitals to provide emergency abortions under federal law, even in states with near-total bans.
“In pulling back guidance, this administration is feeding the fear and confusion that already exists at hospitals in every state where abortion is banned,” Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement.
“Hospitals need more guidance, not less, to stop them from turning away patients experiencing pregnancy crises,” she added.