VP Kamala Harris made an impromptu return to Atlanta to shed light on the state’s strict abortion bans. Harris decided to come to Atlanta after a ProPublica report revealed that two Black women, Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, died after Georgia’s strict abortion ban and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade.
In her speech, Harris took direct aim at Donald Trump and the damage caused during his first tenure as President.
“We all know how we got here,” Harris said. “When Donald Trump was president, he hand selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would overturn the protections of Roe v. Wade. And as he intended, they did. And now more than 20 states have Trump abortion bans, extremists that have passed laws that criminalize healthcare providers, doctors and nurses, and punish women. In two of those states, they provide for prison for life for healthcare providers, specifically providing reproductive care.”
Harris continued by discussing the real-life impact of those policies.
“These hypocrites are saying this is the best interest of women and children,” Harris said in a scolding tone. “But women and their families are facing the consequence every single day. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, I have met women who refused care during a miscarriage. I’ve actually met several women who were turned away from the emergency room after the Dobbs decision came down. With tears, she was with her husband, she talked about how only when she developed sepsis did she receive emergency care. And now we know that at least two women, and those are only the stories we know here in the state of Georgia, died because of the Trump abortion ban.”
Thurman was nine weeks pregnant with twins when she took an abortion pill in 2022. However, the abortion did not complete and she developed sepsis. After going to Piedmont Henry Hospital in Henry County, Georgia, ProPublica reported that doctors were unsure if they could perform the abortion due to Georgia’s strict abortion ban.
Doctors who violated the new Georgia law could be prosecuted and face up to 10 years in prison.
Harris revealed that she met with Thurman’s family who shared her story.
“She was ambitious and they described her as an extraordinary life of a person,” Harris said. “She was excited. She was working hard. She was a medical assistant. She was going to nursing school, raising her 6-year-old son. She was really proud that she had finally worked so hard that she gained the independence and was able to get an apartment in a community with a pool for her son to play. She was so proud that she was headed to nursing school.”
Thurman’s death did not have to happen, according to ProPublica.
“It was preventable,” Harris said. “Because medical experts have now determined that Amber’s death was preventable. And through the pain and the grief of her mother, who courageously told her story, I promised her that we will make sure Amber is not just remembered as a statistic.”
Harris continued to question Republicans who have suggested that the policy
“They’re saying that we’re going to create public policy that says that a doctor, a healthcare provider, will only kick in to give the care that somebody needs if they’re about to die,” Harris said. “Think about what we are saying right now. You’re saying that good policy, logical policy, moral policy, humane policy is about saying that a healthcare provider will only start providing that care when you’re about to die.”
She closed her speech by saying that humanity should be considered, not politics.
“This is not a partisan issue,” Harris said. “This is not a partial issue, and it is proving that the voice of the people has been heard and will be heard again in probably the most consequential election of our lifetime.”