Reproductive rights groups erupted in outrage Monday after ProPublica revealed that a Georgia woman died from delayed medical care caused by the US state's restrictive abortion law. Amber Nicole Thurman, 28, developed a rare complication from abortion pills and died during emergency surgery in August 2022, with an official state committee blaming the fatal outcome on a "preventable" lag in performing a critical procedure. Georgia had just passed a law that made performing dilation and curettage (D&C) a felony offense with medical exceptions that doctors had warned were vague and difficult to interpret.
"Amber would be alive right now if it wasn't for Donald Trump and Brian Kemp's abortion ban," said Mini Timmara, president of Reproductive Freedom for All. "They have blood on their hands." The US Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn national abortion rights unleashed a wave of bans and restrictions in 22 states, thrusting reproductive rights to the forefront of the upcoming presidential election.
ProPublica said this was the first abortion-related death officially deemed "preventable" and plans to publish details of a second case soon. These official reviews are not made public, but ProPublica obtained copies of the reports. Thurman, an otherwise healthy medical assistant and mother of a six-year-old boy, made the decision to terminate a twin pregnancy to preserve her newfound stability, her best friend Ricaria Baker told ProPublica.
She and her son had recently moved to .