Facebook profile of Amber Thurman
First Reported Deaths Caused by Abortion Bans Coming Out of Georgia
An investigation by ProPublica details the first (known) deaths of women who needed abortions to save their lives but couldn't get them in Georgia, a state with a near-total abortion ban. Doctors say their deaths were preventable.
Amber Nicole Thurman passed away from an infection after she was unable to get an abortion procedure to remove dead fetal tissue from her body. The procedure, a dilation and curettage (D&C), could land a doctor in Georgia in prison for up to ten years in a post-Roe United States.
Doctors waited 20 hours for Thurman's infection to worsen to the point where it could (in theory) legally qualify for a "life of the mother" exception to the abortion ban. By then it was too late.
Amber Thurman died, even though her infection was easily treatable. She was 28-years-old, otherwise perfectly healthy, and left behind a 6-year-old son. A state medical review board deemed her death "preventable."
According to ProPublica, this is the first time in the post-Roe era that "preventable" deaths of patients resulting from bans on abortion procedures have been reported. Thurman's case is from 2022. ProPublica says the identity of the second woman will be released soon.
Vice President Harris said in a statement in regards to Thurman's death, "This young woman should be alive, raising her son, and pursuing her dream of attending nursing school. This is exactly what we feared when Roe was struck down. In more than 20 states, Trump abortion bans are preventing doctors from providing medical care."
These deaths are purely the result of a system that places authority over women's healthcare on the ideology of prosecutors and judges above medical science and the judgement of doctors, whose primary concern is upholding their oath to keep sick people alive. In that system, doctors must hesitate before making the decision to save a person's life, and that hesitation, even for a few hours, will cost lives.
The wording of these exceptions are too vague, say doctors. Doctors simply do not know when it is legal to intervene with a D&C to save a woman's life in Republican controlled states, and are not willing to risk a felony charge to perform them.
These truths prove so-called "life of the mother" exceptions a mockery, and reveal that pro-life ideology has zero concern for life. If these exceptions worked, Thurman would be alive. Thurman’s last words to her mother before she died were: "Promise me you’ll take care of my son."
