WASHINGTON—Planned Parenthood’s board of directors removed Leana Wen as president and CEO of the organization Tuesday, ending her eight-month term at the helm of the nation’s largest abortion provider. Wen tweeted she was fired by the board after a secret meeting, and sources familiar with the decision told The New York Times that the organization was seeking “a more aggressive political leader” to fight against efforts to defend and protect unborn children.

“I am leaving because the new Board Chairs and I have philosophical differences over the direction and future of Planned Parenthood,” Wen, a physician and an immigrant who left China at the age of 8, said in a statement. She also called abortion a healthcare issue, not a political one.

Reaction was swift on social media. Lila Rose, president of the pro-life advocacy group Live Action, tweeted, “Planned Parenthood’s priority will ALWAYS be abortion. Not their staff, not the health of women, not basic human decency. It’s why hundreds of workers are leaving the abortion industry, & why millions more Americans are becoming pro-life.”

Alexis McGill Johnson, who headed up the Perception Institute, a liberal think tank, will take over as acting president and CEO of Planned Parenthood, which called her a “renowned social justice leader” in a tweet announcing her appointment.