Georgia woman died after doctors delayed abortion care. Harris blamed her death on ‘Trump abortion bans’

The death of a 28-year-old pregnant woman from an infection has been blamed on “Trump’s abortion ban” by Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Amber Nicole Thurman of Georgia died two years ago after her treatment was delayed as doctors struggled with the state’s strict abortion laws.

Her death was later declared “preventable” by a state commission involving 10 doctors and an investigative agency. ProPublica reported on Monday.

Harris released a statement Tuesday about what happened to Thurman, the mother of a 6-year-old boy, and told her story later in the day in an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists.

“This young mother should be alive, raising her son, and pursuing her dream of going to nursing school,” Harris said in a statement. “This is exactly what we feared when Roe was struck down. In more than 20 states, Trump abortion bans prevent doctors from providing basic medical care.”

“Women are bleeding to death in parking lots, being turned away from emergency rooms, losing their ability to ever have children,” she continued. “Survivors of rape and incest are told they can’t make decisions about what happens to their bodies.

“And now women are dying. These are the consequences of Donald Trump’s actions.”

During his presidency, Trump nominated three justices to create the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. This conservative majority allowed the court to Roe vs. Wade in 2022 – the ruling that guaranteed abortion access nationwide. Some states began passing legislation restricting abortion after Deer was overthrown.

Thurman, a medical assistant, was taken to Piedmont Henry Hospital in suburban Atlanta in 2022 after vomiting blood and falling unconscious. ProPublica reports. Doctors discovered that Thurman had taken abortion medication and developed a rare complication in which some fetal tissue remained in her uterus, according to the outlet’s investigation.

At that point, Thurman needed a procedure called dilation and curettage, which allowed doctors to remove the rest of the tissue, ProPublica reports. But Georgia recently passed a law making the procedure a felony, with some exceptions.

According to doctors, Thurman’s treatment was delayed and she eventually underwent surgery 20 hours after arriving at the hospital. ProPublicaShe died on the operating table.

Piedmont Henry Hospital did not respond to requests for comment from ProPublicaaccording to the report. The Independent has contacted the hospital for comment.

For the past two years, Thurman’s family members have known only that she died of an infection resulting from “residual products of conception.” ProPublica reports. Her loved ones only learned that medical experts deemed Thurman’s death preventable due to ProPublica’s reporting.

Her family is now focused on caring for Thurman’s son, she said. ProPublicaThurman’s mother told the outlet that the last words she heard her daughter say were, “promise me you’ll take care of my son.”

Deaths from complications of abortion medications are exceedingly rare. There have been 32 deaths reported to the Food and Drug Administration from 2000 to 2022. These deaths were reported regardless of whether abortion medications played a role, according to ProPublicaand many of the recorded deaths were due to other causes, such as drug overdose or homicide.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, also issued a statement in response to the ProPublica report.

“Amber Nicole Thurman, the mother of a 6-year-old son, died after routine medical care was delayed,” wrote Senator Warren. “Her doctors feared criminal prosecution under Georgia’s abortion ban. Her death was preventable. Donald Trump said abortion bans are a ‘beautiful thing.’”

This summer, Trump called states passing laws restricting access to abortion “a beautiful thing to see.”

The Republican presidential candidate has spread outrageous, false claims about abortion, saying during last week’s debate with Harris that some states were executing babies after birth.

Since the fall of DeerPregnant women face significant barriers to accessing abortion, which can have life-changing and sometimes life-threatening consequences.

In states with few to no exceptions to abortion bans, people are forced to continue with life-threatening pregnancies that are not viable. People living in more than 700 counties must travel more than 200 miles to reach their nearest abortion clinic, according to Middlebury College’s Myers Abortion Facility Database.

The Independent has contacted the Trump campaign for comment.