Georgia disbands maternal health panel after abortion deaths leak
Since June 2022, Georgia has enforced a strict abortion ban, prohibiting all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy except in cases of rape, incest, or when necessary to prevent irreversible physical harm or death of the mother. This law has drawn criticism for the limited timeframe, as many women may not even realize they are pregnant at six weeks. The impact of this legislation came under intense scrutiny following the deaths of two women, Amber Thurman, 28, and Candi Miller, 41, who experienced rare complications after taking FDA-approved abortion medications mifepristone and misoprostol.
Thurman, who sought medical care after the abortion medications failed to fully expel fetal tissue from her uterus, waited 19 hours at a Georgia hospital before doctors performed the procedure needed to remove the remaining tissue. The procedure, restricted under Georgia’s abortion ban, was delayed due to confusion and hesitation over legal constraints. Thurman had developed acute sepsis, a life-threatening condition by the time she was accepted for the surgery and died while being operated on.
Miller, a mother of three, died at home after reportedly avoiding medical care due to fears stemming from the state’s abortion laws. Her family told the coroner that she refrained from seeking help, believing her options were limited under current legislation. A state panel of experts tasked with examining pregnancy-related deaths deemed Miller’s death preventable, noting that a hospital’s delay in performing critical care for Thurman had a significant impact on her outcome as well. The panel highlighted that Miller’s decisions were heavily influenced by the restrictive legal environment in Georgia.
The deaths of Thurman and Miller became a focal point of a September report by ProPublica, which detailed the consequences of strict abortion bans on maternal health. The report drew national outrage, particularly from pro-choice advocates who argue that such laws endanger women’s lives. In response to the report, Georgia’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC), a panel of over 30 experts, including 10 doctors was abruptly disbanded by the state health department. The MMRC had been tasked with investigating pregnancy-related deaths to improve maternal health outcomes.
State Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey cited concerns over confidentiality breaches in her decision to dissolve the panel. In a letter announcing the move, Toomey stated that all seats on the committee would be reopened through a new application process to better ensure confidentiality in future investigations. She declined to comment on whether the decision was directly linked to the ProPublica report. Governor Brian Kemp’s office referred all inquiries to the health department.
The decision to disband the MMRC has drawn sharp criticism from pro-choice advocates, who view it as an effort to suppress critical discussions about the risks posed by strict abortion bans. Alicia Stallworth, the director of Reproductive Freedom for All Georgia, did not allow the move as a deliberate tactic to discourage comprehensive investigations into maternal deaths.
Georgia continues to struggle with one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the United States, The issue has taken on heightened urgency following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which shifted abortion regulation to individual states.