No more deaths from abortion bans! Act now!

Since the Supreme Court of the United States overturned legal abortion in June 2022 with its Dobbs decision, 22 states have enacted abortion bans or very restrictive laws. This ruling has had severe consequences for pregnant people in these states, especially those who are Black, Latiné and Indigenous and living in the South. 

Many states require pregnant people to be on the verge of death or facing “irreversible harm” to obtain lifesaving abortions. So doctors — afraid of imprisonment and losing their licenses — are denying medical intervention until pregnant people are at death’s door. Sooner or later, these draconian laws were bound to result in fatalities.

In September, ProPublica reported on the deaths of two Black women, both parents, 28-year-old Amber Nicole Thurman and 41-year-old Candi Miller in 2022 in Georgia, which has a strict abortion ban. Thurman had severe sepsis and was hospitalized for 20 hours until doctors operated. By then it was too late. Miller, who had three chronic health conditions, had a rare reaction to abortion pills. Afraid to seek medical care due to the ban, she died at home. 

Medical experts, including 10 doctors, said these deaths were “preventable.” Outrageously, it took two years for them to be discovered. 

Abortion bans disproportionately harm Black women. Georgia has one of the country’s highest maternal mortality rates. There, Black women are three times more likely to die than white women from pregnancy-related complications. 

SisterSong: ‘Take action!’

SisterSong, a women of color reproductive justice collective based in Georgia, sounded the alarm for Black women on Facebook Sept. 16: “Today, we are mourning the loss of Amber Nicole Thurman. When Amber sought medical care, doctors delayed providing lifesaving care as Georgia law criminalized the procedure Amber needed.

“Experts deemed Amber’s death preventable, but this is the result of heartless attacks on our bodies. This is the reality of being a Black woman seeking care in an anti-abortion America. … We must Trust Black Women to lead the fight to defeat extremist politicians who oppose bodily autonomy.” 

Danielle Rodriguez, SisterSong’s Georgia Coordinator stated: “We cannot allow Amber’s death to be in vain. It is time for us to take action. We call on every person who believes in the right to safe, accessible health care to stand with us. Contact your local representatives and demand they repeal Georgia’s abortion ban, which is killing our loved ones.”

On Sept. 18, SisterSong posted: “We are in the midst of a reproductive health crisis! We refuse to sit idly by while Black women lose their lives due to the criminalization of care caused by restrictive abortion bans. If you are ready to organize to put an end to the control of our bodies, we welcome you. Reproductive Justice envisions a world where all of us can make decisions about our bodies and determine our futures.

“We need all hands on deck to demand accountability for Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller. If we don’t act now, their stories — and the untold tragedies yet to come — will only become more common.”

Remember Amber Nicole Thurman! Remember Candi Miller!