Former Planned Parenthood president Dr. Leana Wen said that the organization's board ousted her because of her efforts to refocus the organization to approach abortion as a healthcare issue rather than as a political one.

Wen, who served as Planned Parenthood president for just eight months before being terminated on Tuesday, said in a Friday op-ed in the New York Times that she and the organization’s board held “philosophical differences,” including disagreements about her plans to emphasize the organization's role as a women's healthcare provider rather than as a political entity and abortion provider. Wen wanted to promote Planned Parenthood’s healthcare services to counter the criticism that the organization is primarily geared toward providing abortions and lobbying for abortion rights.

Wen says that team she brought with her “faced daily internal opposition from those who saw my goals as mission creep.”

“There was even more criticism as we worked to change the perception that Planned Parenthood was just a progressive political entity to show that it was first and foremost a mainstream health care organization,” she said.

Wen led the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which was behind filing myriad lawsuits against states enacting abortion bans, and oversaw a forum with 2020 Democratic presidential candidates in June to highlight the party's support for abortion .