A liberal obstetrician and gynecologist has been fired after wishing that women who voted for Donald Trump would suffer a fatal pregnancy complication.
Nicole Hart, a physician assistant (PA) in Philadelphia, posted on Facebook days after the election: “To all the women who voted for Trump, I hope your daughter has an ectopic pregnancy.”
The brutal condition occurs when a fertilized egg grows outside the uterus; It is always fatal to the baby and makes half of women infertile.
Ms. Hart was an employee of Jefferson Health, a Philadelphia-based health care system, and as a personal assistant she is allowed to independently examine, diagnose, treat and prescribe medications for patients.
However, shortly after her post went viral, Jefferson Health said in a tweet: “We are aware of comments on social media that are inconsistent with our values.
“This person is no longer employed by Jefferson Health.”
President-elect Donald Trump flipped the state of Pennsylvania in the 2024 election, winning more than 3.5 million votes, beating Vice President Kamala Harris by 50.5 percent to 48.6 percent after that the Commonwealth would pass to President Joe Biden in 2020.
Nicole Hart posted the above on Facebook after the election of Donald Trump.
The screenshot above of a tweet posted by X user @captnawesome112 appears to show a social media profile for Nicole M Hart.
Ms. Hart’s LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram appear to have been deactivated or deleted.
His profile on the Jefferson Health website has also been removed.
The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) lists Nicole M Hart as currently board certified with a license valid through 2025. She has been a board certified PA since October 2001.
The NCCPA says on its website that there are currently no reportable disciplinary actions imposed against Ms. Hart.
However, dozens of people who responded to tweets about the situation said they had filed complaints against Hart or planned to do so.
While Ms. Hart does not directly reference abortion in her post, many commented that her statement may be related to the issue.
One person commented: “Nicole probably doesn’t know that treating an ectopic pregnancy is not an abortion and is perfectly legal and required in all 50 states.”
In Pennsylvania, abortion is accessible, but has no legal protections. The law prohibits the procedure after 24 weeks of pregnancy and there are multiple requirements and restrictions to obtain an abortion.
X user Digital Princess said Ms Hart also posted her sentiment on her Instagram story.
Trump has said he would not impose a federal ban on abortion, leaving decisions up to the states, but he has repeatedly boasted and taken responsibility for overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, which provided federal protections for abortion.
Despite the different laws and accessibility of abortions in the US, exceptions exist in all states – even those with outright bans – to prevent the death of the pregnant person, which can include ectopic pregnancies.
However, in 14 states there is no health exception.
Because of the uncertainty of an ectopic pregnancy, it is unclear whether the condition would qualify for a “health exception” under state abortion laws.
In most cases, it is up to a medical professional to exercise “reasonable medical judgment” or “good faith medical judgment” in determining whether an ectopic pregnancy qualifies as an exception and whether an abortion should and can be performed.
Jefferson Health has 17 locations throughout the Pennsylvania tri-state area, including hospitals, clinics and physician offices.
However, doctors report that they are increasingly confused by abortion laws and exceptions and are worried about performing the life-saving procedure for fear of prosecution.
In one case, a pregnant Utah woman was in labor for 34 days and was forced to endure contractions every four to six minutes after doctors feared inducing her because of the state’s abortion law.
Shelby Gambrell said she went to the hospital seven times on the advice of her care team because of the agonizing pain of contractions.
But doctors refused to induce her at 34 weeks pregnant, and the only option for Gambrell to give birth at that point was to break her water, she said.
Under Utah law, which prohibits abortion after 18 weeks of pregnancy, a doctor cannot induce the mother before she is full term (39 weeks) because it is considered inducing an abortion.
Ms Gambrell said in a TikTok: “My problem was not a legal problem. My problem was medical and my medical professional was unable to take the necessary action due to the laws in place.
‘My care was not attended to by me. This idea of what a healthy baby and a healthy pregnancy equates to was addressed. “I will never get pregnant again.”