{"id":20,"date":"2026-07-11T01:30:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T01:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maxinefilmes.com\/odelator\/georgia-abortion-ban-amber-thurman-death\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T07:06:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T07:06:39","slug":"georgia-abortion-ban-amber-thurman-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maxinefilmes.com\/odelator\/georgia-abortion-ban-amber-thurman-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Abortion Bans Have Delayed Emergency Medical Care. In Georgia, Experts Say This Mother\u2019s Death Was Preventable."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<article class=\"wp-block-group p-grid-text-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<header class=\"wp-block-group entry-header is-layout-flow wp-container-core-group-is-layout-3ce78d47 wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-propublica-opener\">\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-block-group p-opener p-opener--split p-opener--left p-opener--text_art_half_half is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-group p-opener__art-wrapper p-opener__art-wrapper--inset is-layout-flow wp-container-core-group-is-layout-a77db08e wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"p-opener__art\"\n\t\t\t\talt=\"\"\n\t\t\t\twidth=\"1149\"\n\t\t\t\theight=\"1436\"\n\t\t\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg?w=1149\"\n\t\t\t\tsrcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg 2020w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg?resize=240,300 240w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg?resize=768,960 768w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg?resize=819,1024 819w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg?resize=1229,1536 1229w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg?resize=1638,2048 1638w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg?resize=863,1079 863w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg?resize=422,528 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg?resize=552,690 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg?resize=558,698 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg?resize=527,659 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg?resize=752,940 752w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg?resize=1149,1436 1149w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg?resize=1280,1600 1280w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg?resize=400,500 400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg?resize=800,1000 800w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg?resize=1200,1500 1200w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg?resize=1600,2000 1600w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-ga-_-lead-3.jpg?resize=2000,2500 2000w\"\n\t\t\t\tsizes=\"(max-width: 60em) 100vw, 50vw\"\n\t\t\t\tfetchpriority=\"high\"\n\t\t\t\tstyle=\"object-position: 50% 50%;\"\t\t\t\/>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"p-attribution\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"p-attribution__caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\tAmber Thurman, a 28-year-old mother, died after she couldn\u2019t access legal abortion care in Georgia. The state\u2019s maternal mortality review committee found that her death was preventable and said a delay in care had a \u201clarge\u201d impact.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"p-attribution__credit\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto Illustration by Andrea Wise\/ProPublica. Photo by Nydia Blas for ProPublica.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-group p-opener__topic-title-dek-wrapper p-opener__topic-title-dek-wrapper--valign-center is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n\t\t\n<p class=\"p-opener__series wp-block-propublica-primary-term\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/series\/life-of-the-mother\" class=\"wp-block-propublica-primary-term__link p-opener__series-link\">\n\t\t\tLife of the Mother\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t<h1 class=\"p-opener__hed p-opener__hed--small wp-block-post-title\">Abortion Bans Have Delayed Emergency Medical Care. In Georgia, Experts Say This Mother\u2019s Death Was Preventable.<\/h1>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n<h2 class=\"p-opener__dek wp-block-propublica-dek\">\n\tAt least two women in Georgia died after they couldn\u2019t access legal abortions and timely medical care in their state, ProPublica has found. This is one of their stories.<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group p-article-meta-1 p-article-meta-1--left is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"p-article-meta-1__byline wp-block-propublica-byline\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-propublica-byline__photos\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/people\/kavitha-surana\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"wp-block-propublica-byline__photo-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?w=50\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsrcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?w=50 1x, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?w=100 2x\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\talt=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"wp-block-propublica-byline__photo\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\twidth=\"50\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\theight=\"50\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-propublica-byline__right\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-propublica-byline__content\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-block-propublica-byline-text\">by <\/span><span class=\"wp-block-propublica-byline-profile\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/people\/kavitha-surana\">Kavitha Surana<\/a><\/span>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\t\t<div class=\"p-article-meta-1__pubdate wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2024-09-16T05:00:00-04:00\">September 16, 2024, 5:00 am<\/time><\/div>\n\t\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-group p-article-meta-1__section-actions p-article-meta-1__section-actions--left is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-group p-article-meta-1__section-actions-container is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c531013 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n                <script type=\"application\/json\" class=\"svelte-config\">\n                    {\"componentName\":\"ShareToolsRebrand\",\"props\":{\"pageTitle\":\"Abortion Bans Have Delayed Emergency Medical Care. In Georgia, Experts Say This Mother\u2019s Death Was Preventable.\",\"pageUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/georgia-abortion-ban-amber-thurman-death\"},\"contextArray\":[]}\n                <\/script>\n                <div style=\"display: contents\">\n                    <!--[--><div class=\"share-tools\" data-pp-click=\"\" data-pp-location=\"share tools\"><!--[--><!--[--><!--$s1--><!--[0--><div class=\"svelte-1ear6bd button--circle\" style=\"display: contents; --button-bg-color: var(--p-dyn-color-white); --button-text-color: var(--p-dyn-color-gray-05); --button-border: 1px solid var(--p-dyn-color-gray-01); --button-font-size: var(--p-scale-4);\"><!--[--><!----><button data-button-root=\"true\" type=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" id=\"bits-s1\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-expanded=\"false\" data-state=\"closed\" data-popover-trigger=\"\" aria-label=\"Share\"><span aria-hidden=\"true\" style=\"display: contents\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><g clip-path=\"url(#clip0_149_321)\"><path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M4 11C4.55228 11 5 11.4477 5 12V20C5 20.2652 5.10536 20.5196 5.29289 20.7071C5.48043 20.8946 5.73478 21 6 21H18C18.2652 21 18.5196 20.8946 18.7071 20.7071C18.8946 20.5196 19 20.2652 19 20V12C19 11.4477 19.4477 11 20 11C20.5523 11 21 11.4477 21 12V20C21 20.7957 20.6839 21.5587 20.1213 22.1213C19.5587 22.6839 18.7957 23 18 23H6C5.20435 23 4.44129 22.6839 3.87868 22.1213C3.31607 21.5587 3 20.7956 3 20V12C3 11.4477 3.44772 11 4 11Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.2929 1.29289C11.6834 0.902369 12.3166 0.902369 12.7071 1.29289L16.7071 5.29289C17.0976 5.68342 17.0976 6.31658 16.7071 6.70711C16.3166 7.09763 15.6834 7.09763 15.2929 6.70711L12 3.41421L8.70711 6.70711C8.31658 7.09763 7.68342 7.09763 7.29289 6.70711C6.90237 6.31658 6.90237 5.68342 7.29289 5.29289L11.2929 1.29289Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><path fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M12 1C12.5523 1 13 1.44772 13 2V15C13 15.5523 12.5523 16 12 16C11.4477 16 11 15.5523 11 15V2C11 1.44772 11.4477 1 12 1Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/g><defs><clipPath id=\"clip0_149_321\"><rect width=\"24\" height=\"24\" fill=\"white\"><\/rect><\/clipPath><\/defs><\/svg><!----><\/span><!----><!----><\/button><!----><!--]--><\/div><!----><!--]--><!----><!--]--> <!--[--><!--[-1--><!--]--><!--]--><!----><!----><!--]--><\/div><!--]-->\n                <\/div>\n            \n\n\t\t\t\n                <script type=\"application\/json\" class=\"svelte-config\">\n                    {\"componentName\":\"DarkModeToggleRebrand\",\"props\":{},\"contextArray\":[]}\n                <\/script>\n                <div style=\"display: contents\">\n                    <!--[--><div class=\"dark-mode-toggle svelte-1l6vey\"><div class=\"svelte-1ear6bd button--circle\" style=\"display: contents; --button-bg-color: var(--p-color-page-bg); --button-text-color: var(--p-dyn-color-gray-05); --button-border: 1px solid var(--p-dyn-color-gray-01); --button-font-size: var(--p-scale-4);\"><!--[--><!----><button data-button-root=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><span aria-hidden=\"true\"><!--[-1--><svg role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><title>Contrast<\/title><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"12\" r=\"10\"><\/circle><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M12 18a6 6 0 000-12v12z\"><\/path><\/svg><!--]--><\/span><!----><!----><\/button><!----><!--]--><\/div><!----> <label class=\"p-a11y\" for=\"dark-mode-toggle__select\">Change Appearance<\/label> <select class=\"dark-mode-toggle__select svelte-1l6vey\" id=\"dark-mode-toggle__select\" data-pp-change=\"true\" data-pp-category=\"change-mode\"><!--[--><option value=\"auto\" selected=\"\">Auto<\/option><option value=\"light\">Light<\/option><option value=\"dark\">Dark<\/option><!--]--><\/select><\/div><!--]-->\n                <\/div>\n            \n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group article-body is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-propublica-notes--top wp-block-propublica-notes\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-propublica-note\">\n\t\n\n<p>ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/newsletters\/the-big-story?source=www.propublica.org&#038;placement=top-note&#038;region=national\">our biggest stories<\/a> as soon as they\u2019re published.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n\n\n<div class=\"entry-content wp-block-post-content is-layout-flow wp-block-post-content-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>In her final hours, Amber Nicole Thurman suffered from a grave infection that her suburban Atlanta hospital was well-equipped to treat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She\u2019d taken abortion pills and encountered a rare complication; she had not expelled all of the fetal tissue from her body. She showed up at Piedmont Henry Hospital in need of a routine procedure to clear it from her uterus, called a dilation and curettage, or D&amp;C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But just that summer, her state had made performing the procedure a felony, with few exceptions. Any doctor who violated the new Georgia law could be prosecuted and face up to a decade in prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thurman waited in pain in a hospital bed, worried about what would happen to her 6-year-old son, as doctors monitored her infection spreading, her blood pressure sinking and her organs beginning to fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It took 20 hours for doctors to finally operate. By then, it was too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"bb--size-xsmall-right wp-block-propublica-html p-bb--size-xsmall-right\">\n\t<div data-pp-view data-pp-click data-pp-location=\"custom trust module\" class=\"trust-module\">\n    <div class=\"trust-module__icon-container\">\n        <div class=\"icon\">\n            <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" class=\"lucide lucide-search-check\"><path d=\"m8 11 2 2 4-4\"\/><circle cx=\"11\" cy=\"11\" r=\"8\"\/><path d=\"m21 21-4.3-4.3\"\/><\/svg>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <p><strong>Why should I trust your reporting?<\/strong><\/p>\n    <p>I (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/people\/kavitha-surana\">Kavitha Surana<\/a>) am a reporter who has been covering reproductive health care access since Roe v. Wade was overturned. I\u2019ve spoken with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/abortion-doctor-decisions-hospital-committee\">doctors<\/a>, community workers and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/tennessee-abortion-ban-doctors-ectopic-pregnancy\">patients<\/a> across the country about how abortion bans have made pregnancy more dangerous in America, and I\u2019ve written about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/inside-anti-abortion-meeting-with-tennessee-republican-lawmakers\">Republican lawmakers<\/a> who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/abortion-ban-exceptions-trigger-laws-health-risks\">refused to listen<\/a>.<\/p>\n    <p>If you want to get in touch and learn more about how I work, <a href=\"\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#bed5dfc8d7cad6df90cdcbccdfd0dffececcd1cecbdcd2d7dddf90d1ccd9\">email me<\/a>. I take your privacy very seriously.<\/p>\n    <p>Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/help-propublica-report-on-maternal-health-abortion-bans\">how ProPublica covers maternal health.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<style>\n.trust-module {\n    position: relative;\n\n    border-top: 1px solid var(--color-neutral-10);\n    border-bottom: 1px solid var(--color-neutral-10);\n    padding: var(--spacing1) 0;\n}\n\n@media screen and (min-width: 0) and (max-width: 78em) {\n    .wide-md:has(.trust-module) {\n        margin-left: auto !important;\n        margin-right: 0 !important;\n        width: 100%;\n    }\n}\n\n.trust-module__icon-container {\n    position: absolute;\n    left: 50%;\n    top: 0;\n    transform: translateX(-50%) translateY(-50%);\n\n\n    width: 2rem;\n    height: 2rem;\n    border-radius: 50%;\n\n    background-color: var(--color-accent-10);\n    color: var(--color-accent-70);\n\n    display: flex;\n    align-items: center;\n    justify-content: center;\n}\n\n.trust-module p {\n    color: var(--color-text-body);\n    font-family: var(--fonts-sans);\n    font-size: var(--scale-1);\n    line-height: 1.6;\n}\n\n.trust-module p + p {\n    margin-top: 0.5rem;\n}\n\n@media screen and (min-width: 78em) {\n    .trust-module p {\n        font-size: var(--scale-2);\n        line-height: var(--line-height-1);\n    }\n}\n\n.trust-module p a {\n    color: inherit;\n}\n\n.trust-module__cta-container {\n    margin-top: 0.8rem;\n}\n\n.trust-module__cta {\n    flex-grow: 1;\n    padding: 0.5rem !important;\n}\n\n<\/style><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>The otherwise healthy 28-year-old medical assistant, who had her sights set on nursing school, should not have died, an official state committee recently concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tasked with examining pregnancy-related deaths to improve maternal health, the experts, including 10 doctors, deemed hers \u201cpreventable\u201d and said the hospital\u2019s delay in performing the critical procedure had a \u201clarge\u201d impact on her fatal outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their reviews of individual patient cases are not made public. But ProPublica obtained reports that confirm that at least two women have already died after they couldn\u2019t access legal abortions and timely medical care in their state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are almost certainly others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Committees like the one in Georgia, set up in each state, often operate with a two-year lag behind the cases they examine, meaning that experts are only now beginning to delve into deaths that took place after the Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thurman\u2019s case marks the first time an abortion-related death, officially deemed \u201cpreventable,\u201d is coming to public light. ProPublica will share the story of the second in the coming days. We are also exploring other deaths that have not yet been reviewed but appear to be connected to abortion bans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Doctors warned state legislators women would die if medical procedures sometimes needed to save lives became illegal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though Republican lawmakers who voted for state bans on abortion say the laws have exceptions to protect the \u201clife of the mother,\u201d medical experts cautioned that the language is not rooted in science and ignores the fast-moving realities of medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-propublica-lead-in bb--size-small-right p-bb--size-small-right\">\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Read More<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-propublica-story-promo\">\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/abortion-pills-safety-questions-answered\" class=\"story-promo\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"story-promo__art\">\n\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"459\" height=\"306\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg?w=459&amp;h=306&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-propublica-story-promo size-propublica-story-promo wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg 6584w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg?resize=863,575 863w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg?resize=422,281 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg?resize=552,368 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg?resize=558,372 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg?resize=527,351 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg?resize=752,501 752w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg?resize=1149,766 1149w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg?resize=459,306 459w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg?resize=2000,1334 2000w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg?resize=800,533 800w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/h_27.RTS7RT54.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 459px) 100vw, 459px\" js-autosizes=\"true\" \/>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"story-promo__info\">\n\t\t\t<strong class=\"story-promo__hed\">How Do Abortion Pills Work? Answers to Frequently Asked Questions.<\/strong>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The most restrictive state laws, experts predicted, would pit doctors\u2019 fears of prosecution against their patients\u2019 health needs, requiring providers to make sure their patient was inarguably on the brink of death or facing \u201cirreversible\u201d harm when they intervened with procedures like a D&amp;C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey would feel the need to wait for a higher blood pressure, wait for a higher fever \u2014 really got to justify this one \u2014 bleed a little bit more,\u201d Dr. Melissa Kottke, an OB-GYN at Emory, warned lawmakers in 2019 during one of the hearings over Georgia\u2019s ban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Doctors and a nurse involved in Thurman\u2019s care declined to explain their thinking and did not respond to questions from ProPublica. Communications staff from the hospital did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Georgia\u2019s Department of Public Health, which oversees the state maternal mortality review committee, said it cannot comment on ProPublica\u2019s reporting because the committee\u2019s cases are confidential and protected by federal law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The availability of D&amp;Cs for both abortions and routine miscarriage care helped save lives afterthe 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade, studies show, <a href=\"https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3913899\">reducing the rate of maternal deaths<\/a> for women of color by up to 40% the first year after abortion became legal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But since abortion was banned or restricted in 22 states over the past two years, women in serious danger have been <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/pregnant-women-emergency-room-ectopic-er-edd66276d2f6c412c988051b618fb8f9\">turned away from emergency rooms<\/a> and told that they needed to be in more peril before doctors could help. Some have been forced to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/tennessee-abortion-ban-doctors-ectopic-pregnancy\">continue high-risk pregnancies that threatened their lives<\/a>. Those whose pregnancies weren\u2019t even viable have been told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/health-shots\/2023\/04\/25\/1171851775\/oklahoma-woman-abortion-ban-study-shows-confusion-at-hospitals\">they could return when they were \u201ccrashing.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"p-hide-print p-bb--size-full wp-block-propublica-ad-slot\">\n\t<div id=\"bsa-zone_1760102469343-3_123456\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Such stories have been at the center of the upcoming presidential election, during which the right to abortion is on the ballot in 10 states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Republican legislators have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/abortion-ban-exceptions-trigger-laws-health-risks\">rejected small efforts<\/a> to expand and clarify health exceptions \u2014 even in Georgia, which has one of the nation\u2019s highest rates of maternal mortality and where Black women are three times more likely to <a href=\"https:\/\/news.emory.edu\/stories\/2023\/11\/hs_maternal_health_symposium_29_11_2023\/story.html\">die from pregnancy-related complications<\/a> than white women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When its law went into effect in July 2022, Gov. Brian Kemp said he was \u201coverjoyed\u201d and believed the state had found an approach that would keep women \u201csafe, healthy and informed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After advocates tried to block the ban in court, arguing the law put women in danger, attorneys for the state of Georgia accused them of \u201chyperbolic fear mongering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two weeks later, Thurman was dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-propublica-position-medium bb--size-medium p-bb--size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" js-autosizes height=\"1003\" width=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34696\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-3.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-3.jpg?resize=225,300 225w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-3.jpg?resize=768,1024 768w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-3.jpg?resize=1152,1536 1152w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-3.jpg?resize=863,1151 863w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-3.jpg?resize=422,563 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-3.jpg?resize=552,736 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-3.jpg?resize=558,744 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-3.jpg?resize=527,703 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-3.jpg?resize=752,1003 752w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-3.jpg?resize=1149,1532 1149w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-3.jpg?resize=1200,1600 1200w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-3.jpg?resize=400,533 400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-3.jpg?resize=800,1067 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\" \/><figcaption class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"attribution__caption\">Thurman and her son in a photo she posted on social media the year before her death<\/span> <span class=\"attribution__credit\">via Facebook<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Thurman, who carried the full load of a single parent, loved being a mother. Every chance she got, she took her son to petting zoos, to pop-up museums and on planned trips, like one to a Florida beach. \u201cThe talks I have with my son are everything,\u201d she posted on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But when she learned she was pregnant with twins in the summer of 2022, she quickly decided she needed to preserve her newfound stability, her best friend, Ricaria Baker, told ProPublica. Thurman and her son had recently moved out of her family\u2019s home and into a gated apartment complex with a pool, and she was planning to enroll in nursing school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The timing could not have been worse. On July 20, the day Georgia\u2019s law banning abortion at six weeks went into effect, her pregnancy had just passed that mark, according to records her family shared with ProPublica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thurman wanted a surgical abortion close to home and held out hope as advocates tried to get the ban paused in court, Baker said. But as her pregnancy progressed to its ninth week, she couldn\u2019t wait any longer. She scheduled a D&amp;C in North Carolina, where abortion at that stage was still legal, and on Aug. 13 woke up at 4 a.m. to make the journey with her best friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On their drive, they hit standstill traffic, Baker said. The clinic couldn\u2019t hold Thurman\u2019s spot longer than 15 minutes \u2014 it was inundated with women from other states where bans had taken effect. Instead, a clinic employee offered Thurman a two-pill abortion regimen approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, mifepristone and misoprostol. Her pregnancy was well within the standard of care for that treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Getting to the clinic had required scheduling a day off from work, finding a babysitter, making up an excuse to borrow a relative\u2019s car and walking through a crowd of anti-abortion protesters. Thurman didn\u2019t want to reschedule, Baker said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the clinic, Thurman sat through a counseling session in which she was told how to safely take the pills and instructed to go to the emergency room if complications developed. She signed a release saying she understood. She took the first pill there and insisted on driving home before any symptoms started, Baker said. She took the second pill the next day, as directed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"p-hide-print p-bb--size-full wp-block-propublica-ad-slot\">\n\t<div id=\"bsa-zone_1760102552591-0_123456\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Deaths due to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/abortion-pills-safety-questions-answered\">complications from abortion pills<\/a> are extremely rare. Out of nearly 6 million women who\u2019ve taken mifepristone in the U.S. since 2000, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fda.gov\/media\/164331\/download?attachment\">32 deaths were reported to the FDA<\/a> through 2022, regardless of whether the drug played a role. Of those, 11 patients developed sepsis. Most of the remaining cases involved intentional and accidental drug overdoses, suicide, homicide and ruptured ectopic pregnancies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Baker and Thurman spoke every day that week. At first, there was only cramping, which Thurman expected. But days after she took the second pill, the pain increased and blood was soaking through more than one pad per hour. If she had lived nearby, the clinic in North Carolina would have performed a D&amp;C for free as soon as she followed up, the executive director told ProPublica. But Thurman was four hours away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-propublica-position-small bb--size-small p-bb--size-small\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" js-autosizes height=\"970\" width=\"527\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-amber-and-ricaria.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34697\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-amber-and-ricaria.jpg 589w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-amber-and-ricaria.jpg?resize=163,300 163w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-amber-and-ricaria.jpg?resize=556,1024 556w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-amber-and-ricaria.jpg?resize=422,777 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-amber-and-ricaria.jpg?resize=552,1016 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-amber-and-ricaria.jpg?resize=558,1027 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-amber-and-ricaria.jpg?resize=527,970 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/abortion-deaths-amber-and-ricaria.jpg?resize=400,736 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 527px) 100vw, 527px\" \/><figcaption class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"attribution__caption\">Thurman, left, and her best friend, Ricaria Baker, in 2020<\/span> <span class=\"attribution__credit\">Courtesy of Ricaria Baker<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>On the evening of Aug. 18, Thurman vomited blood and passed out at home, according to 911 call logs. Her boyfriend called for an ambulance. Thurman arrived at Piedmont Henry Hospital in Stockbridge at 6:51 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ProPublica obtained the summary narrative of Thurman\u2019s hospital stay provided to the maternal mortality review committee, as well as the group\u2019s findings. The narrative is based on Thurman\u2019s medical records, with identifying information removed. The committee does not interview doctors involved with the case or ask hospitals to respond to its findings. ProPublica also consulted with medical experts, including members of the committee, about the timeline of events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Within Thurman\u2019s first hours at the hospital, which says it is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.piedmont.org\/media\/file\/2024-03-PHH-Fact-Sheet.pdf\">staffed at all hours<\/a> with an OB who specializes in hospital care, it should have been clear that she was in danger, medical experts told ProPublica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her lower abdomen was tender, according to the summary. Her white blood cell count was critically high and her blood pressure perilously low \u2014 at one point, as Thurman got up to go to the bathroom, she fainted again and hit her head. Doctors noted a foul odor during a pelvic exam, and an ultrasound showed possible tissue in her uterus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The standard treatment of sepsis is to start antibiotics and immediately seek and remove the source of the infection. For a septic abortion, that would include removing any remaining tissue from the uterus. One of the hospital network\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.piedmontwomenshealthcare.com\/patient-education\/\/dilation-and-curettage-dc-445\">own practices<\/a> describes a D&amp;C as a \u201cfairly common, minor surgical procedure\u201d to be used after a miscarriage to remove fetal tissue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After assessing her at 9:38 p.m., doctors started Thurman on antibiotics and an IV drip, the summary said. The OB-GYN noted the possibility of doing a D&amp;C the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But that didn\u2019t happen the following morning, even when an OB diagnosed \u201cacute severe sepsis.\u201d By 5:14 a.m., Thurman was breathing rapidly and at risk of bleeding out, according to her vital signs. Even five liters of IV fluid had not moved her blood pressure out of the danger zone. Doctors escalated the antibiotics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead of performing the newly criminalized procedure, they continued to gather information and dispense medicine, the summary shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Doctors had Thurman tested for sexually transmitted diseases and pneumonia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They placed her on Levophed, a powerful blood pressure support that could do nothing to treat the infection and posed a new threat: The medication can constrict blood flow so much that patients could need an amputation once stabilized.<\/p>\n<div class=\"p-hide-print p-bb--size-full wp-block-propublica-ad-slot\">\n\t<div id=\"bsa-zone_1760102636564-5_123456\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>At 6:45 a.m., Thurman\u2019s blood pressure continued to dip, and she was taken to the intensive care unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At 7:14 a.m., doctors discussed initiating a D&amp;C. But it still didn\u2019t happen. Two hours later, lab work indicated her organs were failing, according to experts who read her vital signs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At 12:05 p.m., more than 17 hours after Thurman had arrived, a doctor who specializes in intensive care notified the OB-GYN that her condition was deteriorating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thurman was finally taken to an operating room at 2 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By then, the situation was so dire that doctors started with open abdominal surgery. They found that her bowel needed to be removed, but it was too risky to operate because not enough blood was flowing to the area \u2014 a possible complication from the blood pressure medication, an expert explained to ProPublica. The OB performed the D&amp;C but immediately continued with a hysterectomy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During surgery, Thurman\u2019s heart stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her mother was praying in the waiting room when one of the doctors approached. \u201cCome walk with me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until she got the call from the hospital, her mother had no idea Thurman had been pregnant. She recalled her daughter\u2019s last words before she was wheeled into surgery \u2014 they had made no sense coming from a vibrant young woman who seemed to have her whole life ahead of her:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPromise me you\u2019ll take care of my son.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-propublica-position-medium bb--size-medium p-bb--size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" js-autosizes height=\"752\" width=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34698\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-1.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-1.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-1.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-1.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-1.jpg?resize=863,863 863w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-1.jpg?resize=70,70 70w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-1.jpg?resize=422,422 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-1.jpg?resize=552,552 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-1.jpg?resize=558,558 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-1.jpg?resize=527,527 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-1.jpg?resize=752,752 752w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-1.jpg?resize=357,357 357w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-1.jpg?resize=714,714 714w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-1.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-1.jpg?resize=800,800 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\" \/><figcaption class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"attribution__caption\">Thurman and her son in a selfie she posted online in 2020, two years before her death<\/span> <span class=\"attribution__credit\">via Facebook<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a \u201cgood chance\u201d providing a D&amp;C earlier could have prevented Amber Thurman\u2019s death, the maternal mortality review committee concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every state has a committee of experts who meet regularly to examine deaths that occurred during or within a year after a pregnancy. Their goal is to collect accurate data and identify the root causes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/series\/lost-mothers\">America\u2019s increasing maternal mortality rate<\/a>, then translate those lessons into policy changes. Their findings and recommendations are sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and their states publish an annual report, but their reviews of individual cases are never public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Georgia\u2019s committee has 32 regular members from a variety of backgrounds, including OB-GYNs, cardiologists, mental health care providers, a medical examiner, health policy experts, community advocates and others. This summer, the committee reviewed deaths through Fall 2022, but most states have not gotten that far.<\/p>\n<div class=\"p-hide-print p-bb--size-full wp-block-propublica-ad-slot\">\n\t<div id=\"bsa-zone_1760102719203-6_123456\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>After reviewing Thurman\u2019s case, the committee highlighted Piedmont\u2019s \u201clack of policies\/procedures in place to evacuate uterus immediately\u201d and recommended all hospitals implement policies \u201cto treat a septic abortion on an ongoing basis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is not clear from the records available why doctors waited to provide a D&amp;C to Thurman, though the summary report shows they discussed the procedure at least twice in the hours before they finally did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Piedmont did not have a policy to guide doctors on how to interpret the state abortion ban when Thurman arrived for care, according to two people with knowledge of internal conversations who were not authorized to speak publicly. In the months after she died, an internal task force of providers there created policies to educate staff on how to navigate the law, though they are not able to give legal advice, the sources said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In interviews with more than three dozen OB-GYNs in states that outlawed abortion, ProPublica learned how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/abortion-doctor-decisions-hospital-committee\">difficult it is to interpret the vague and conflicting language<\/a> in bans\u2019 medical exceptions \u2014 especially, the doctors said, when their judgment could be called into question under the threat of prison time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Take the language in Georgia\u2019s supposed lifesaving exceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It prohibits doctors from using any instrument \u201cwith the purpose of terminating a pregnancy.\u201d While removing fetal tissue is not terminating a pregnancy, medically speaking, the law only specifies it\u2019s not considered an abortion to remove \u201ca dead unborn child\u201d that resulted from a \u201cspontaneous abortion\u201d defined as \u201cnaturally occurring\u201d from a miscarriage or a stillbirth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thurman had told doctors her miscarriage was not spontaneous \u2014 it was the result of taking pills to terminate her pregnancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is also an exception, included in most bans, to allow abortions \u201cnecessary in order to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or the substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.\u201d There is no standard protocol for how providers should interpret such language, doctors said. How can they be sure a jury with no medical experience would agree that intervening was \u201cnecessary\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ProPublica asked the governor\u2019s office on Friday to respond to cases of denied care, including the two abortion-related deaths, and whether its exceptions were adequate. Spokesperson Garrison Douglas said they were clear and gave doctors the power to act in medical emergencies. He returned to the state\u2019s previous argument, describing ProPublica\u2019s reporting as a \u201cfear-mongering campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Republican officials across the country have largely rejected calls to provide guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When legislators have tried, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/abortion-ban-exceptions-trigger-laws-health-risks\">anti-abortion groups have blocked them<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2023, a group of Tennessee Republicans was unable to push through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/tennessee-lobbyists-oppose-new-life-saving-exceptions-abortion-ban\">a small change to the state\u2019s abortion ban<\/a>, intended to give doctors greater leeway when intervening for patients facing health complications.<\/p>\n<div class=\"p-hide-print p-bb--size-full wp-block-propublica-ad-slot\">\n\t<div id=\"bsa-zone_1760102804706-4_123456\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNo one wants to tell their spouse, child or loved one that their life is not important in a medical emergency as you watch them die when they could have been saved,\u201d said Republican Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/wapp.capitol.tn.gov\/apps\/legislatorinfo\/member.aspx?district=H30\">Esther Helton-Haynes<\/a>, a nurse who sponsored the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The state\u2019s main anti-abortion lobbyist, Will Brewer, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/tennessee-lobbyists-oppose-new-life-saving-exceptions-abortion-ban\">vigorously opposed the change<\/a>. Some pregnancy complications \u201cwork themselves out,\u201d he told a panel of lawmakers. Doctors should be required to \u201cpause and wait this out and see how it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At some hospitals, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/two-hospitals-denied-abortion-miscarrying-patient-breaking-federal-law\">doctors are doing just that<\/a>. Doctors told ProPublica they have seen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/abortion-doctor-decisions-hospital-committee\">colleagues disregard the standard of care<\/a> when their patients are at risk of infection and wait to see if a miscarriage completes naturally before offering a D&amp;C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although no doctor has been prosecuted for violating abortion bans, the possibility looms over every case, they said, particularly outside of well-funded academic institutions that have lawyers promising criminal defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Doctors in public hospitals and those outside of major metro areas told ProPublica that they are often left scrambling to figure out on a case-by-case basis when they are allowed to provide D&amp;Cs and other abortion procedures. Many fear they are taking on all of the risk alone and would not be backed up by their hospitals if a prosecutor charged them with a crime. At Catholic hospitals, they typically have to transfer patients elsewhere for care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When they do try to provide care, it can be a challenge to find other medical staff to participate. A D&amp;C requires an anesthesiologist, nurses, attending physicians and others. Doctors said peers have refused to participate because of their personal views or their fear of being exposed to criminal charges. Georgia law allows medical staff to refuse to participate in abortions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thurman\u2019s family members may never learn the exact variables that went into doctors\u2019 calculations. The hospital has not fulfilled their request for her full medical record. There was no autopsy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For years, all Thurman\u2019s family had was a death certificate that said she died of \u201cseptic shock\u201d and \u201cretained products of conception\u201d \u2014 a rare description that had previously only appeared once in Georgia death records over the last 15 years, ProPublica found. The family learned Thurman\u2019s case had been reviewed and deemed preventable from ProPublica\u2019s reporting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The sting of Thurman\u2019s death remains extremely raw to her loved ones, who feel her absence most deeply as they watch her son grow taller and lose teeth and start school years without her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They focus on surrounding him with love but know nothing can replace his mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Monday, she would have turned 31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-propublica-position-medium bb--size-medium p-bb--size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" js-autosizes height=\"752\" width=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34699\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-2.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-2.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-2.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-2.jpg?resize=70,70 70w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-2.jpg?resize=422,422 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-2.jpg?resize=552,552 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-2.jpg?resize=558,558 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-2.jpg?resize=527,527 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-2.jpg?resize=752,752 752w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-2.jpg?resize=357,357 357w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-2.jpg?resize=714,714 714w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/amber-facebook-2.jpg?resize=400,400 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\" \/><figcaption class=\"attribution\"><span class=\"attribution__caption\">A photo of Thurman that she posted online in 2020<\/span> <span class=\"attribution__credit\">via Facebook<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"bb--size-medium wp-block-propublica-aside p-bb--size-medium\">\n\t\n\t\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How We Reported the Story<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>ProPublica reporter Kavitha Surana reviewed death records and medical examiner and coroner reports to identify cases that may be related to abortion access. She first reached out to Amber Thurman\u2019s family and friends a year ago. The family shared her personal documents and signed a release for ProPublica to access her medical information. The maternal mortality review committee reviewed Thurman\u2019s case at the end of July 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Do you have any information about how abortion bans have affected medical care? Reach out to ProPublica reporters covering reproductive health care including Kavitha Surana at <a href=\"\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#3a515b4c534e525b14494f485b545b7a4a48554a4f585653595b1455485d\"><span class=\"__cf_email__\" data-cfemail=\"4b202a3d223f232a65383e392a252a0b3b39243b3e292722282a6524392c\">[email&#160;protected]<\/span><\/a> or Cassandra Jaramillo at <a href=\"\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#5b383a28283a353f293a75313a293a36323737341b2b29342b2e393732383a7534293c\"><span class=\"__cf_email__\" data-cfemail=\"fc9f9d8f8f9d92988e9dd2969d8e9d9195909093bc8c8e938c899e90959f9dd2938e9b\">[email&#160;protected]<\/span><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\t<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-query is-layout-flow wp-block-query-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading screen-reader-text\">Corrections<\/h2>\n\n<\/aside>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-propublica-notes--bottom wp-block-propublica-notes\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-propublica-note--contributor-line wp-block-propublica-note\">\n\t\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/people\/cassandra-jaramillo\">Cassandra Jaramillo<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/people\/mariam-elba\">Mariam Elba<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/people\/kirsten-berg\">Kirsten Berg<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/people\/jeff-ernsthausen\">Jeff Ernsthausen<\/a> contributed research.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<footer class=\"wp-block-group entry-footer is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-template-part\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-query is-layout-flow wp-block-query-is-layout-flow\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading screen-reader-text\">Contributors<\/h2>\n\n\n<ul class=\"rich-byline-group wp-block-post-template is-layout-flow wp-block-post-template-is-layout-flow\"><li class=\"wp-block-post post-989 profile type-profile status-publish has-post-thumbnail hentry\">\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group rich-byline-group__inner is-content-justification-left is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ed87f293 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><figure style=\"aspect-ratio:1;width:70px;height:70px;\" class=\"is-style-rounded is-style-rounded--1 wp-block-post-featured-image\"><a aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/people\/kavitha-surana\" target=\"_self\"  style=\"height:70px\"><img width=\"70\" height=\"70\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?w=70&amp;h=70&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-propublica-rich-byline-thumbnail size-propublica-rich-byline-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?resize=150,150 150w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?resize=300,300 300w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?resize=768,768 768w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?resize=1024,1024 1024w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?resize=1536,1536 1536w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?resize=863,863 863w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?resize=70,70 70w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?resize=422,422 422w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?resize=552,552 552w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?resize=558,558 558w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?resize=527,527 527w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?resize=752,752 752w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?resize=1149,1149 1149w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?resize=357,357 357w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?resize=714,714 714w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?resize=1600,1600 1600w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?resize=400,400 400w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?resize=800,800 800w, https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20180409_portraits0346-kavitha-surana-sized.jpg?resize=1200,1200 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 70px) 100vw, 70px\" js-autosizes=\"true\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n    \n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-15957e15 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-3f9e86ef wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><h3 class=\"wp-block-post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/people\/kavitha-surana\" target=\"_self\" >Kavitha Surana<\/a><\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-propublica-dek\">\n\tI have been reporting on changes to reproductive health care access since Roe v. Wade was overturned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n                <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script type=\"application\/json\" class=\"svelte-config\">\n                    {\n            \"componentName\": \"ContactToolsRebrand\",\n            \"props\": {\n                \"emailAddress\": \"kavitha.surana@propublica.org\",\n                \"signalNumber\": \"\",\n                \"signalUsername\": \"KSPP.81\",\n                \"phoneNumber\": \"\",\n                \"buttonText\": \"Need to Get in Touch?\",\n                \"buttonProps\": {}\n            },\n            \"contextArray\": []\n        }\n                <\/script>\n                <div style=\"display: contents\">\n                    <!--[--><div class=\"contact-tools\" data-pp-click=\"\" data-pp-location=\"contact tools\"><!--[--><!--[--><!--$s1--><!--[0--><div class=\"svelte-1ear6bd\" style=\"display: contents; --button-bg-color: var(--p-dyn-color-black); --button-text-color: var(--p-dyn-color-white); --button-border: none; --button-font-size: var(--p-scale-3);\"><!--[--><!----><button data-button-root=\"true\" type=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" id=\"bits-s1\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-expanded=\"false\" data-state=\"closed\" data-popover-trigger=\"\"><!---->Need to Get in Touch?<!----><!----><\/button><!----><!--]--><\/div><!----><!--]--><!----><!--]--> <!--[--><!--[-1--><!--]--><!--]--><!----><!----><!--]--><\/div><!--]-->\n                <\/div>\n            \n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-right is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-95163ec0 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"border-top-color:var(--p-dyn-color-gray-01);border-top-width:1px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--p-spacing-3)\"><div class=\"taxonomy-pp_topic hide-print wp-block-post-terms wp-container-content-9cfa9a5a\"><span class=\"wp-block-post-terms__prefix\">Filed under \u2014 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/topics\/abortion\" rel=\"tag\">Abortion<\/a><span class=\"wp-block-post-terms__separator\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/topics\/health-care\" rel=\"tag\">Health Care<\/a><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-propublica-republish-link\" data-component=\"republish-link\">\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-outline is-style-outline--4\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button wp-block-propublica-republish-link__open-button\">Republish This Story<\/button><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div\n\t\tclass=\"wp-block-propublica-republish-link__modal wp-block-propublica-republish-link__modal--hidden\"\n\t\trole=\"dialog\"\n\t\taria-modal=\"true\"\n\t\taria-hidden=\"true\"\n\t\taria-labelledby=\"propublica-republish-link-label2\"\n\t\taria-description=\"propublica-republish-link-description3\"\n\t>\n\t\t\n<div class=\"wp-block-propublica-republish-link__modal__header\">\n\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"wp-block-propublica-republish-link__close-button\" aria-label=\"Close\">\n\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\"><use href=\"#am-symbol-close\"><\/use><\/svg>\t<\/button>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-propublica-republish-link__modal__content\">\n\t\t\t\n<div class=\"wp-block-propublica-republish-link__modal__instructions\">\n\t<h2 class=\"wp-block-propublica-republish-link__modal-hed\" id=\"propublica-republish-link-label2\">Republish This Story for Free<\/h2>\n\n\t<p class=\"wp-block-propublica-republish-link__modal-license\" id=\"propublica-republish-link-description3\"><a rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/3.0\/\">Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\t<hr\/>\n\n\t<p>\n\t\tThank you for your interest in republishing this story. You are free to republish it so long as you do the following:\t<\/p>\n\n\t<ul>\n\t\t<li>\n\t\t\tYou have to credit <em>ProPublica and any co-reporting partners<\/em>. In the byline, we prefer &quot;Author Name, Publication(s).&quot; At the top of the text of your story, include a line that reads: &quot;This story was originally published by ProPublica.&quot; You must link the word &quot;ProPublica&quot; to the original URL of the story.\t\t<\/li>\n\n\t\t<li>\n\t\t\tIf you&#039;re republishing online, you must link to the URL of this story on propublica.org, include all of the links from our story, including our newsletter sign up language and link, and use our <a href=\"\/pixelping\">PixelPing tag<\/a>.\t\t<\/li>\n\n\t\t<li>\n\t\t\tIf you use canonical metadata, please use the ProPublica URL. For more information about canonical metadata, <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/webmasters\/answer\/139066?hl=en\">refer to this Google SEO link<\/a>.\t\t<\/li>\n\n\t\t<li>\n\t\t\tYou can&#039;t edit our material, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. (For example, &quot;yesterday&quot; can be changed to &quot;last week,&quot; and &quot;Portland, Ore.&quot; to &quot;Portland&quot; or &quot;here.&quot;)\t\t<\/li>\n\n\t\t<li>\n\t\t\tYou cannot republish our photographs or illustrations without specific permission. Please contact <a href=\"\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#5d303839343c2f343a35292e1d2d2f322d283f31343e3c73322f3a\"><span class=\"__cf_email__\" data-cfemail=\"28454d4c41495a414f405c5b68585a47585d4a44414b4906475a4f\">[email&#160;protected]<\/span><\/a>.\t\t<\/li>\n\n\t\t<li>\n\t\t\tIt&#039;s okay to put our stories on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories. You can&#039;t state or imply that donations to your organization support ProPublica&#039;s work.\t\t<\/li>\n\n\t\t<li>\n\t\t\tYou can&#039;t sell our material separately or syndicate it. This includes publishing or syndicating our work on platforms or apps such as Apple News, Google News, etc.\t\t<\/li>\n\n\t\t<li>\n\t\t\tYou can&#039;t republish our material wholesale, or automatically; you need to select stories to be republished individually. (To inquire about syndication or licensing opportunities, contact <a href=\"\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#402c2923252e33292e270030322f3035222c2923216e2f3227\"><span class=\"__cf_email__\" data-cfemail=\"a7cbcec4c2c9d4cec9c0e7d7d5c8d7d2c5cbcec4c689c8d5c0\">[email&#160;protected]<\/span><\/a>.)\t\t<\/li>\n\n\t\t<li>\n\t\t\tYou can&#039;t use our work to populate a website designed to improve rankings on search engines or solely to gain revenue from network-based advertisements.\t\t<\/li>\n\n\t\t<li>\n\t\t\tWe do not generally permit translation of our stories into another language.\n\t\t<\/li>\n\n\t\t<li>\n\t\t\tAny website our stories appear on must include a prominent and effective way to contact you.\t\t<\/li>\n\t<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-propublica-republish-link__modal__copy\">\n\t<label>\n\t\t<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">HTML<\/span>\n\n\t\t<textarea readonly tabindex=\"-1\">\n<h1>Abortion Bans Have Delayed Emergency Medical Care. In Georgia, Experts Say This Mother\u2019s Death Was Preventable.<\/h1>\n<p>In her final hours, Amber Nicole Thurman suffered from a grave infection that her suburban Atlanta hospital was well-equipped to treat.<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019d taken abortion pills and encountered a rare complication; she had not expelled all of the fetal tissue from her body. She showed up at Piedmont Henry Hospital in need of a routine procedure to clear it from her uterus, called a dilation and curettage, or D&amp;C.<\/p>\n<p>But just that summer, her state had made performing the procedure a felony, with few exceptions. Any doctor who violated the new Georgia law could be prosecuted and face up to a decade in prison.<\/p>\n<p>Thurman waited in pain in a hospital bed, worried about what would happen to her 6-year-old son, as doctors monitored her infection spreading, her blood pressure sinking and her organs beginning to fail.<\/p>\n<p>It took 20 hours for doctors to finally operate. By then, it was too late.<\/p>\n<p>The otherwise healthy 28-year-old medical assistant, who had her sights set on nursing school, should not have died, an official state committee recently concluded.<\/p>\n<p>Tasked with examining pregnancy-related deaths to improve maternal health, the experts, including 10 doctors, deemed hers \u201cpreventable\u201d and said the hospital\u2019s delay in performing the critical procedure had a \u201clarge\u201d impact on her fatal outcome.<\/p>\n<p>Their reviews of individual patient cases are not made public. But ProPublica obtained reports that confirm that at least two women have already died after they couldn\u2019t access legal abortions and timely medical care in their state.<\/p>\n<p>There are almost certainly others.<\/p>\n<p>Committees like the one in Georgia, set up in each state, often operate with a two-year lag behind the cases they examine, meaning that experts are only now beginning to delve into deaths that took place after the Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion.<\/p>\n<p>Thurman\u2019s case marks the first time an abortion-related death, officially deemed \u201cpreventable,\u201d is coming to public light. ProPublica will share the story of the second in the coming days. We are also exploring other deaths that have not yet been reviewed but appear to be connected to abortion bans.<\/p>\n<p>Doctors warned state legislators women would die if medical procedures sometimes needed to save lives became illegal.<\/p>\n<p>Though Republican lawmakers who voted for state bans on abortion say the laws have exceptions to protect the \u201clife of the mother,\u201d medical experts cautioned that the language is not rooted in science and ignores the fast-moving realities of medicine.<\/p>\n<p>The most restrictive state laws, experts predicted, would pit doctors\u2019 fears of prosecution against their patients\u2019 health needs, requiring providers to make sure their patient was inarguably on the brink of death or facing \u201cirreversible\u201d harm when they intervened with procedures like a D&amp;C.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey would feel the need to wait for a higher blood pressure, wait for a higher fever \u2014 really got to justify this one \u2014 bleed a little bit more,\u201d Dr. Melissa Kottke, an OB-GYN at Emory, warned lawmakers in 2019 during one of the hearings over Georgia\u2019s ban.<\/p>\n<p>Doctors and a nurse involved in Thurman\u2019s care declined to explain their thinking and did not respond to questions from ProPublica. Communications staff from the hospital did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Georgia\u2019s Department of Public Health, which oversees the state maternal mortality review committee, said it cannot comment on ProPublica\u2019s reporting because the committee\u2019s cases are confidential and protected by federal law.<\/p>\n<p>The availability of D&amp;Cs for both abortions and routine miscarriage care helped save lives afterthe 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade, studies show, <a href=\"https:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3913899\">reducing the rate of maternal deaths<\/a> for women of color by up to 40% the first year after abortion became legal.<\/p>\n<p>But since abortion was banned or restricted in 22 states over the past two years, women in serious danger have been <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/pregnant-women-emergency-room-ectopic-er-edd66276d2f6c412c988051b618fb8f9\">turned away from emergency rooms<\/a> and told that they needed to be in more peril before doctors could help. Some have been forced to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/tennessee-abortion-ban-doctors-ectopic-pregnancy\">continue high-risk pregnancies that threatened their lives<\/a>. Those whose pregnancies weren\u2019t even viable have been told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/health-shots\/2023\/04\/25\/1171851775\/oklahoma-woman-abortion-ban-study-shows-confusion-at-hospitals\">they could return when they were \u201ccrashing.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Such stories have been at the center of the upcoming presidential election, during which the right to abortion is on the ballot in 10 states.<\/p>\n<p>But Republican legislators have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/abortion-ban-exceptions-trigger-laws-health-risks\">rejected small efforts<\/a> to expand and clarify health exceptions \u2014 even in Georgia, which has one of the nation\u2019s highest rates of maternal mortality and where Black women are three times more likely to <a href=\"https:\/\/news.emory.edu\/stories\/2023\/11\/hs_maternal_health_symposium_29_11_2023\/story.html\">die from pregnancy-related complications<\/a> than white women.<\/p>\n<p>When its law went into effect in July 2022, Gov. Brian Kemp said he was \u201coverjoyed\u201d and believed the state had found an approach that would keep women \u201csafe, healthy and informed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After advocates tried to block the ban in court, arguing the law put women in danger, attorneys for the state of Georgia accused them of \u201chyperbolic fear mongering.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Two weeks later, Thurman was dead.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thurman, who carried the full load of a single parent, loved being a mother. Every chance she got, she took her son to petting zoos, to pop-up museums and on planned trips, like one to a Florida beach. \u201cThe talks I have with my son are everything,\u201d she posted on social media.<\/p>\n<p>But when she learned she was pregnant with twins in the summer of 2022, she quickly decided she needed to preserve her newfound stability, her best friend, Ricaria Baker, told ProPublica. Thurman and her son had recently moved out of her family\u2019s home and into a gated apartment complex with a pool, and she was planning to enroll in nursing school.<\/p>\n<p>The timing could not have been worse. On July 20, the day Georgia\u2019s law banning abortion at six weeks went into effect, her pregnancy had just passed that mark, according to records her family shared with ProPublica.<\/p>\n<p>Thurman wanted a surgical abortion close to home and held out hope as advocates tried to get the ban paused in court, Baker said. But as her pregnancy progressed to its ninth week, she couldn\u2019t wait any longer. She scheduled a D&amp;C in North Carolina, where abortion at that stage was still legal, and on Aug. 13 woke up at 4 a.m. to make the journey with her best friend.<\/p>\n<p>On their drive, they hit standstill traffic, Baker said. The clinic couldn\u2019t hold Thurman\u2019s spot longer than 15 minutes \u2014 it was inundated with women from other states where bans had taken effect. Instead, a clinic employee offered Thurman a two-pill abortion regimen approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, mifepristone and misoprostol. Her pregnancy was well within the standard of care for that treatment.<\/p>\n<p>Getting to the clinic had required scheduling a day off from work, finding a babysitter, making up an excuse to borrow a relative\u2019s car and walking through a crowd of anti-abortion protesters. Thurman didn\u2019t want to reschedule, Baker said.<\/p>\n<p>At the clinic, Thurman sat through a counseling session in which she was told how to safely take the pills and instructed to go to the emergency room if complications developed. She signed a release saying she understood. She took the first pill there and insisted on driving home before any symptoms started, Baker said. She took the second pill the next day, as directed.<\/p>\n<p>Deaths due to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/abortion-pills-safety-questions-answered\">complications from abortion pills<\/a> are extremely rare. Out of nearly 6 million women who\u2019ve taken mifepristone in the U.S. since 2000, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fda.gov\/media\/164331\/download?attachment\">32 deaths were reported to the FDA<\/a> through 2022, regardless of whether the drug played a role. Of those, 11 patients developed sepsis. Most of the remaining cases involved intentional and accidental drug overdoses, suicide, homicide and ruptured ectopic pregnancies.<\/p>\n<p>Baker and Thurman spoke every day that week. At first, there was only cramping, which Thurman expected. But days after she took the second pill, the pain increased and blood was soaking through more than one pad per hour. If she had lived nearby, the clinic in North Carolina would have performed a D&amp;C for free as soon as she followed up, the executive director told ProPublica. But Thurman was four hours away.<\/p>\n<p>On the evening of Aug. 18, Thurman vomited blood and passed out at home, according to 911 call logs. Her boyfriend called for an ambulance. Thurman arrived at Piedmont Henry Hospital in Stockbridge at 6:51 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>ProPublica obtained the summary narrative of Thurman\u2019s hospital stay provided to the maternal mortality review committee, as well as the group\u2019s findings. The narrative is based on Thurman\u2019s medical records, with identifying information removed. The committee does not interview doctors involved with the case or ask hospitals to respond to its findings. ProPublica also consulted with medical experts, including members of the committee, about the timeline of events.<\/p>\n<p>Within Thurman\u2019s first hours at the hospital, which says it is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.piedmont.org\/media\/file\/2024-03-PHH-Fact-Sheet.pdf\">staffed at all hours<\/a> with an OB who specializes in hospital care, it should have been clear that she was in danger, medical experts told ProPublica.<\/p>\n<p>Her lower abdomen was tender, according to the summary. Her white blood cell count was critically high and her blood pressure perilously low \u2014 at one point, as Thurman got up to go to the bathroom, she fainted again and hit her head. Doctors noted a foul odor during a pelvic exam, and an ultrasound showed possible tissue in her uterus.<\/p>\n<p>The standard treatment of sepsis is to start antibiotics and immediately seek and remove the source of the infection. For a septic abortion, that would include removing any remaining tissue from the uterus. One of the hospital network\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.piedmontwomenshealthcare.com\/patient-education\/\/dilation-and-curettage-dc-445\">own practices<\/a> describes a D&amp;C as a \u201cfairly common, minor surgical procedure\u201d to be used after a miscarriage to remove fetal tissue.<\/p>\n<p>After assessing her at 9:38 p.m., doctors started Thurman on antibiotics and an IV drip, the summary said. The OB-GYN noted the possibility of doing a D&amp;C the next day.<\/p>\n<p>But that didn\u2019t happen the following morning, even when an OB diagnosed \u201cacute severe sepsis.\u201d By 5:14 a.m., Thurman was breathing rapidly and at risk of bleeding out, according to her vital signs. Even five liters of IV fluid had not moved her blood pressure out of the danger zone. Doctors escalated the antibiotics.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of performing the newly criminalized procedure, they continued to gather information and dispense medicine, the summary shows.<\/p>\n<p>Doctors had Thurman tested for sexually transmitted diseases and pneumonia.<\/p>\n<p>They placed her on Levophed, a powerful blood pressure support that could do nothing to treat the infection and posed a new threat: The medication can constrict blood flow so much that patients could need an amputation once stabilized.<\/p>\n<p>At 6:45 a.m., Thurman\u2019s blood pressure continued to dip, and she was taken to the intensive care unit.<\/p>\n<p>At 7:14 a.m., doctors discussed initiating a D&amp;C. But it still didn\u2019t happen. Two hours later, lab work indicated her organs were failing, according to experts who read her vital signs.<\/p>\n<p>At 12:05 p.m., more than 17 hours after Thurman had arrived, a doctor who specializes in intensive care notified the OB-GYN that her condition was deteriorating.<\/p>\n<p>Thurman was finally taken to an operating room at 2 p.m.<\/p>\n<p>By then, the situation was so dire that doctors started with open abdominal surgery. They found that her bowel needed to be removed, but it was too risky to operate because not enough blood was flowing to the area \u2014 a possible complication from the blood pressure medication, an expert explained to ProPublica. The OB performed the D&amp;C but immediately continued with a hysterectomy.<\/p>\n<p>During surgery, Thurman\u2019s heart stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Her mother was praying in the waiting room when one of the doctors approached. \u201cCome walk with me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Until she got the call from the hospital, her mother had no idea Thurman had been pregnant. She recalled her daughter\u2019s last words before she was wheeled into surgery \u2014 they had made no sense coming from a vibrant young woman who seemed to have her whole life ahead of her:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPromise me you\u2019ll take care of my son.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>There is a \u201cgood chance\u201d providing a D&amp;C earlier could have prevented Amber Thurman\u2019s death, the maternal mortality review committee concluded.<\/p>\n<p>Every state has a committee of experts who meet regularly to examine deaths that occurred during or within a year after a pregnancy. Their goal is to collect accurate data and identify the root causes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/series\/lost-mothers\">America\u2019s increasing maternal mortality rate<\/a>, then translate those lessons into policy changes. Their findings and recommendations are sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and their states publish an annual report, but their reviews of individual cases are never public.<\/p>\n<p>Georgia\u2019s committee has 32 regular members from a variety of backgrounds, including OB-GYNs, cardiologists, mental health care providers, a medical examiner, health policy experts, community advocates and others. This summer, the committee reviewed deaths through Fall 2022, but most states have not gotten that far.<\/p>\n<p>After reviewing Thurman\u2019s case, the committee highlighted Piedmont\u2019s \u201clack of policies\/procedures in place to evacuate uterus immediately\u201d and recommended all hospitals implement policies \u201cto treat a septic abortion on an ongoing basis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It is not clear from the records available why doctors waited to provide a D&amp;C to Thurman, though the summary report shows they discussed the procedure at least twice in the hours before they finally did.<\/p>\n<p>Piedmont did not have a policy to guide doctors on how to interpret the state abortion ban when Thurman arrived for care, according to two people with knowledge of internal conversations who were not authorized to speak publicly. In the months after she died, an internal task force of providers there created policies to educate staff on how to navigate the law, though they are not able to give legal advice, the sources said.<\/p>\n<p>In interviews with more than three dozen OB-GYNs in states that outlawed abortion, ProPublica learned how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/abortion-doctor-decisions-hospital-committee\">difficult it is to interpret the vague and conflicting language<\/a> in bans\u2019 medical exceptions \u2014 especially, the doctors said, when their judgment could be called into question under the threat of prison time.<\/p>\n<p>Take the language in Georgia\u2019s supposed lifesaving exceptions.<\/p>\n<p>It prohibits doctors from using any instrument \u201cwith the purpose of terminating a pregnancy.\u201d While removing fetal tissue is not terminating a pregnancy, medically speaking, the law only specifies it\u2019s not considered an abortion to remove \u201ca dead unborn child\u201d that resulted from a \u201cspontaneous abortion\u201d defined as \u201cnaturally occurring\u201d from a miscarriage or a stillbirth.<\/p>\n<p>Thurman had told doctors her miscarriage was not spontaneous \u2014 it was the result of taking pills to terminate her pregnancy.<\/p>\n<p>There is also an exception, included in most bans, to allow abortions \u201cnecessary in order to prevent the death of the pregnant woman or the substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.\u201d There is no standard protocol for how providers should interpret such language, doctors said. How can they be sure a jury with no medical experience would agree that intervening was \u201cnecessary\u201d?<\/p>\n<p>ProPublica asked the governor\u2019s office on Friday to respond to cases of denied care, including the two abortion-related deaths, and whether its exceptions were adequate. Spokesperson Garrison Douglas said they were clear and gave doctors the power to act in medical emergencies. He returned to the state\u2019s previous argument, describing ProPublica\u2019s reporting as a \u201cfear-mongering campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Republican officials across the country have largely rejected calls to provide guidance.<\/p>\n<p>When legislators have tried, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/abortion-ban-exceptions-trigger-laws-health-risks\">anti-abortion groups have blocked them<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, a group of Tennessee Republicans was unable to push through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/tennessee-lobbyists-oppose-new-life-saving-exceptions-abortion-ban\">a small change to the state\u2019s abortion ban<\/a>, intended to give doctors greater leeway when intervening for patients facing health complications.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one wants to tell their spouse, child or loved one that their life is not important in a medical emergency as you watch them die when they could have been saved,\u201d said Republican Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/wapp.capitol.tn.gov\/apps\/legislatorinfo\/member.aspx?district=H30\">Esther Helton-Haynes<\/a>, a nurse who sponsored the bill.<\/p>\n<p>The state\u2019s main anti-abortion lobbyist, Will Brewer, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/tennessee-lobbyists-oppose-new-life-saving-exceptions-abortion-ban\">vigorously opposed the change<\/a>. Some pregnancy complications \u201cwork themselves out,\u201d he told a panel of lawmakers. Doctors should be required to \u201cpause and wait this out and see how it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At some hospitals, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/two-hospitals-denied-abortion-miscarrying-patient-breaking-federal-law\">doctors are doing just that<\/a>. Doctors told ProPublica they have seen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/abortion-doctor-decisions-hospital-committee\">colleagues disregard the standard of care<\/a> when their patients are at risk of infection and wait to see if a miscarriage completes naturally before offering a D&amp;C.<\/p>\n<p>Although no doctor has been prosecuted for violating abortion bans, the possibility looms over every case, they said, particularly outside of well-funded academic institutions that have lawyers promising criminal defense.<\/p>\n<p>Doctors in public hospitals and those outside of major metro areas told ProPublica that they are often left scrambling to figure out on a case-by-case basis when they are allowed to provide D&amp;Cs and other abortion procedures. Many fear they are taking on all of the risk alone and would not be backed up by their hospitals if a prosecutor charged them with a crime. At Catholic hospitals, they typically have to transfer patients elsewhere for care.<\/p>\n<p>When they do try to provide care, it can be a challenge to find other medical staff to participate. A D&amp;C requires an anesthesiologist, nurses, attending physicians and others. Doctors said peers have refused to participate because of their personal views or their fear of being exposed to criminal charges. Georgia law allows medical staff to refuse to participate in abortions.<\/p>\n<p>Thurman\u2019s family members may never learn the exact variables that went into doctors\u2019 calculations. The hospital has not fulfilled their request for her full medical record. There was no autopsy.<\/p>\n<p>For years, all Thurman\u2019s family had was a death certificate that said she died of \u201cseptic shock\u201d and \u201cretained products of conception\u201d \u2014 a rare description that had previously only appeared once in Georgia death records over the last 15 years, ProPublica found. The family learned Thurman\u2019s case had been reviewed and deemed preventable from ProPublica\u2019s reporting.<\/p>\n<p>The sting of Thurman\u2019s death remains extremely raw to her loved ones, who feel her absence most deeply as they watch her son grow taller and lose teeth and start school years without her.<\/p>\n<p>They focus on surrounding him with love but know nothing can replace his mother.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, she would have turned 31.<\/p>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/georgia-abortion-ban-amber-thurman-death\" \/>\n<meta name=\"syndication-source\" content=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/georgia-abortion-ban-amber-thurman-death\" \/>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/pixel.propublica.org\/pixel.js\" async><\/script>\n<\/textarea>\t<\/label>\n\n\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"wp-block-propublica-republish-link__copy-button\">Copy HTML<\/button>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/footer>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Amber Thurman, a 28-year-old mother, died after she couldn\u2019t access legal abortion care in Georgia. The state\u2019s maternal mortality review committee found that her death was preventable and said a delay in care had a \u201clarge\u201d impact. Photo Illustration by Andrea Wise\/ProPublica. Photo by Nydia Blas for ProPublica. Life of the Mother Abortion Bans Have [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxinefilmes.com\/odelator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxinefilmes.com\/odelator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxinefilmes.com\/odelator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxinefilmes.com\/odelator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxinefilmes.com\/odelator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/maxinefilmes.com\/odelator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":135,"href":"https:\/\/maxinefilmes.com\/odelator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20\/revisions\/135"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxinefilmes.com\/odelator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maxinefilmes.com\/odelator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxinefilmes.com\/odelator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maxinefilmes.com\/odelator\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}