Georgia's top health official dismissed all members of a state committee that investigates pregnancy-related maternal deaths after a committee member presumably released information about two such deaths. In a letter first reported by ProPublica and dated Nov. 8, state public health commissioner Dr.
Kathleen Toomey said whoever shared the information violated state law and a confidential agreement signed by committee members. An agency investigation wasn't able to identify who disclosed the details. ProPublica reported in September that internal reports showed the Georgia Maternal Mortality Review Committee determined the deaths of two women were preventable, but found that doctors were hesitant to perform a procedure that could have saved their lives because of the state's strict abortion policies.
The cases drew national attention and became a central theme in Vice President Kamala Harris ' presidential campaign. Harris has been outspoken on abortion rights ever since the Supreme Court’s decision more than two years ago that overturned Roe v. Wade .
The Georgia committee works to identify what caused women to die during pregnancy or soon after childbirth, seeking to prevent other deaths or health crises. The decision to disband the committee seems “very abrupt,” said Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, one of the groups that sued Georgia over the state's abortion ban beyond six weeks of pregnancy. A judge in.
