Leana Wen ousted as Planned Parenthood president after eight months

Dr. Leana Wen has been removed as Planned Parenthood’s president, just eight months after starting the job. She shared the news on Twitter yesterday afternoon, saying that her employment had been terminated in a secret meeting of the organization’s board. “I am leaving the organization sooner than I had hoped because of philosophical differences about the direction and future of Planned Parenthood,” Wen said in a statement, which also implied that she envisioned focusing on a broad range of health issues whereas the organization's board wanted abortion rights to be the focus moving forward. Wen was the first physician to lead the organization in 50 years, and has been vocal in her support for reproductive rights, especially in the wake of several state laws restricting abortion access and new federal rules threatening to cut off Title X funding to Planned Parenthood and other family planning clinics.