Amber Nicole Thurman, a 28-year-old Black single mother and medical assistant from Georgia, tragically lost her life in August 2022 due to a severe infection after being denied life saving care.
Her death, recently uncovered by a ProPublica investigation, is the first verified fatality linked to Georgia’s six-week abortion ban, which was enacted after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Thurman’s preventable death is a harrowing testament to the dangerous consequences of abortion restrictions, particularly for low-income women of color.
Thurman’s story is a heartbreaking example of what reproductive justice advocates have been warning for years: abortion bans are not only an infringement on women’s rights but also a direct threat to maternal health. Georgia’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee officially deemed Thurman’s death “preventable,” citing the delay in routine care as the cause. “We now have substantiated proof of something we already knew—that abortion bans kill people,” said Mini Timmaraju, president of Reproductive Freedom for All. “It cannot go on.”
Thurman’s ordeal began after she discovered she was pregnant with twins and decided to seek an abortion. However, Georgia’s six-week abortion ban had just gone into effect, forcing her to travel four hours to a clinic in North Carolina, where abortions were still allowed past 20 weeks.
After receiving abortion pills, Thurman began to experience severe pain and heavy bleeding—symptoms of a rare complication requiring an emergency procedure called dilation and curettage (D&C) to remove remaining fetal tissue and prevent sepsis.
Though the clinic offered to perform the D&C for free, the distance was a barrier for Thurman. Instead, she went to a hospital in suburban Atlanta, where doctors noted signs of infection.
Despite her critical condition, the procedure was delayed due to the restrictive legal environment surrounding abortion care in Georgia. The following day, Thurman was finally taken to the operating room, but it was too late—she died during surgery.
The Georgia Maternal Mortality Review Committee found that if a D&C had been performed earlier, Thurman’s life likely could have been saved. “These devastating bans did not only block Amber, and many others, from accessing abortion care in her state, they also delayed the routine life-saving care she later needed, leaving her to suffer and die,” said Timmaraju.
Thurman’s death sparked outrage across Georgia and beyond, prompting calls for change from reproductive justice advocates and political leaders alike. Sen. Sonya Halpern (D–Atlanta) expressed her anger and sorrow in a public statement:
“I am heartbroken to learn about the tragic and entirely preventable death of Amber Thurman, who lost her life due to delayed emergency medical care under Georgia’s abortion ban. This devastating loss serves as a stark reminder of how dangerous this law is—putting our healthcare providers in direct conflict with the Hippocratic Oath they swore to uphold, all while they fear the risk of prosecution. As a result, the trust that people have in their doctors erodes, and the access to essential care becomes dangerously limited,” Halpern said.
She added: “I am angry when I consider that in a state like Georgia—a place with so much to offer and a history of setting powerful examples for the rest of the country—this is what we are becoming known for.”
Despite the undeniable tragedy, there is still some resistance to directly acknowledging the dangers that may lurk behind abortion bans.
In response to ProPublica’s report, Garrison Douglas, a spokesperson for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, offered the following statement to ADW:
“Since it would violate federal and state patient privacy laws for our office or any party to access the report that ProPublica allegedly possesses, we cannot confirm or comment on the circumstances surrounding Ms. Thurman’s tragic passing. Every life is precious, including that of Amber Nicole Thurman, which is why we support life at all stages in Georgia,” said Douglas. “While some may seek to use her passing to spread dangerous misinformation that fosters confusion, fear, and risks patients’ lives, we remain committed to protecting and defending the lives of the most vulnerable among us.”
Amber Thurman’s death underscores the stark reality of maternal health disparities in the U.S., particularly for Black women, who are 2.6 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, according to the CDC.
KR Redman, executive director of SPARK, a reproductive justice group in Georgia, emphasized the broader implications of Thurman’s death: Reproductive justice is not just about abortion access, but also about the broader right to quality, comprehensive, full-range, culturally humble care, life saving health care for all of us,” said Redman. “Amber’s case is just an example of the ongoing systemic negligence that continues to claim the lives of Black folks.”
As maternal mortality rates continue to rise, particularly among women of color, advocates stress the need for systemic change that addresses the root causes of inequality in healthcare access and delivery.