A liberal obstetrician and gynecologist has been fired after wishing that women who voted for Donald Trump suffer a deadly pregnancy complication.
Nicole Hart, a physician assistant (PA) in Philadelphia, posted to Facebook days after the election: ‘To every woman that voted for Trump, I hope your daughter has an ectopic pregnancy.’
The brutal condition occurs when a fertilized egg grows outside of the uterus — it’s always deadly for the baby and makes half of women infertile.
Ms Hart was employed by Jefferson Health, a healthcare system based in Philly, and as a PA is permitted to independently examine, diagnose, treat and prescribe medications to patients.
However, shortly after her post went viral, Jefferson Health said in a tweet: ‘We were made aware of social media comments that are inconsistent with our values.
‘This individual is no longer employed by Jefferson Health.’
President-elect Donald Trump flipped the state of Pennsylvania in the 2024 election, earning more than 3.5million votes, beating out Vice President Kamala Harris 50.5 percent to 48.6 percent after the commonwealth had gone to President Joe Biden in 2020.
Nicole Hart posted the above on Facebook following the election of Donald Trump
The above screenshot from a tweet posted by X user @captnawesome112 appears to show a social media profile of Nicole M Hart
Ms Hart’s LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram appear to all have been deactivated or deleted.
Her profile on Jefferson Health’s 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 there are no current reportable disciplinary actions levied against Ms Hart.
However, scores of people responding to tweets about the situation said they’ve filed complaints against Ms Hart or plan to.
While Ms Hart does not reference abortion directly 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 mandatory, in all 50 states.’
In Pennsylvania, abortion is accessible, but it does not have legal protections. The law prohibits the procedure after 24 weeks of pregnancy and there are multiple requirements for and restrictions on obtaining an abortion.
X user Digital Princess said Ms Hart also posted her sentiment on her Instagram story
Trump has said he wouldn’t impose a federal abortion ban – leaving decisions to the states – but has repeatedly bragged about and taken responsibility for the overturning of Roe vs Wade in 2022, which provided federal protections for abortion.
Despite varying laws and accessibility of abortions across the US, there are exceptions in every state – even those with total bans – to prevent the death of the pregnant person, which may include ectopic pregnancies.
However, in 14 states, there is no health exception.
Because of an ectopic pregnancy’s uncertainty, it is not clear if the condition would qualify for a ‘health exception’ under states’ abortion laws.
In most cases, it is up to a medical professional to exercise ‘reasonable medical judgment’ or ‘good faith medical judgment’ when determining if an ectopic pregnancy qualifies as an exception and an abortion should – and can be – performed.
Jefferson Health has 17 locations in the Pennsylvania tristate area, including hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices
However, doctors are reporting they are increasingly confused by abortion laws and exceptions and are worried about performing the life-saving procedure for fear of being prosecuted.
In one instance, a pregnant Utah woman was in labor for 34 days and forced to endure contractions every four to six minutes after doctors were afraid to induce 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 due to 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 time was for her water to be broken, she said.
Under Utah law, which bans abortion after 18 weeks of pregnancy, a medical practitioner can’t induce the mother before she is full term – 39 weeks – because it is considered to be inducing to abort.
Ms Gambrell said in a TikTok: ‘My issue was not a legal issue. My issue was a medical issue and my medical professional could not make the necessary moves due to laws on the books.
‘My care was not catered to me. It was catered to this idea of what equates to a healthy baby and a healthy pregnancy. I will never get pregnant again.’
