Amber Thurman: American abortion ban leads to woman's death

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court made a historic decision…

“In a sweeping ruling that overturned half a century of precedent, five justices ended American women’s right to choose abortion.”

America's highest court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, a landmark ruling that legalized abortion across the United States.

The decision allowed individual states to re-regulate abortion laws.

Conservative states reacted quickly. On July 20, the state of Georgia banned abortions after six weeks.

“And this happened right around the time Amber Thurman found out she was unexpectedly pregnant with twins.”

This is Tortoise News Editor Jess Winch. 28 year old Amber was Only She was six weeks pregnant when she found out she was pregnant.

“She already had a six-year-old son. She felt like life was just stabilizing. She wanted to train to be a nurse. She couldn't get an abortion in Georgia. So she arranged an appointment in North Carolina and got up at 4 a.m. to drive to the clinic. She ran into traffic. And that day the clinic was so full, so inundated with women. They only held appointments for 15 minutes. She missed it. She was then given abortion pills to take at home.”

Taking the abortion pill is standard procedure for people in Amber's situation. However, an extremely rare complication caused her health to rapidly deteriorate.

According to medical documents provided to ProPublica, an investigative journalism organization that has examined Amber's case in detail, she had not expelled all of the fetal tissue from her body, which subsequently became septic.

Amber was in a lot of pain and was bleeding profusely. On the fifth day of taking the pills, Amber vomited blood and fainted at home, after which her boyfriend decided to call an ambulance.

She needed a routine procedure called D&C to remove the infected tissue from her body. But the hospital where Amber was admitted was in her home state of Georgia, where performing the procedure had become a felony under new abortion laws this summer. Any doctor violating the law would have faced criminal prosecution and a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

According to the inquest into her death, doctors waited more than 20 hours to perform a D&C…

“She was in such bad condition that they had to remove her intestines and perform a hysterectomy, and her heart stopped while she was on the operating table… We don't know exactly what caused the delay… Presumably the doctors were worried about it “It's about them not being sure of their legal status, which is why they delayed treatment, and that was the cause of Amber's death.”

The details of Amber's case are only now coming to light as an official state committee in Georgia investigates pregnancy-related deaths – which has taken two years to process.

“This is our first look at what happened on the ground immediately after Roe v. Wade was overturned in the summer of 2022.”

The issue of abortion and reproductive rights has become a central issue in the US presidential election campaign. Is anything likely to change after Amber's death?

Georgia is a battleground state in US elections.

As soon as ProPublica published its article on Amber Thurman's death, it was reported that Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris told her team they needed to travel to Georgia to address the issue.

Harris was quick to link Amber's death to decisions made during former President Donald Trump's administration.

“Under the Trump abortion ban, her doctors could have faced up to a decade in prison for providing Amber the care she needed. Understand what a law like this means. Doctors have to wait until the patient is on the verge of death. Before they take action.”

Renee Bracey Sherman is a reproductive justice activist and co-author of Liberating abortion.

“Abortion rights play a big role in the election… I think people want action. I think they're looking for a clear plan for what we're doing. They want to hear some compassion. They want to know that whoever is president cares about them and his health care.”

Renee says abortion rights are especially important for communities of color…

“Maternal mortality rates for black women in the United States are sky-high because we don’t have access to health insurance and we don’t have access to hospitals. They keep closing maternity wards in communities with high black and brown populations.”

Georgia, the state where Amber lived, has the nation's highest maternal mortality rate and black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women.

With the Supreme Court unlikely to reverse its decision any time soon, activists are focusing on building communities that offer pregnancy support.

“I'm just talking about abortion access and standing up for the people you love who need abortions or just pregnancy in general. If someone tells you they are pregnant, how can you support them and make their life easier? No matter what they decide.”

According to Renee, Amber Thurman's death may be the first to officially signal the overturn of Roe v. Wade is being repatriated, but there have already been reports of other women whose deaths have been linked to poor access to reproductive health care.

“I'll be honest. I actually don't know what will happen after this case. Amber isn't the only one who died because of an abortion ban. I hope it finally motivates people to take action.”

This episode of Daily Sensemaker was written and mixed by Casey Magloire.