Amber Nicole Thurman’s Death Was Preventable
The details of Thurman’s death, as reported by ProPublica this week, are heartbreaking because it was preventable and her story is familiar to abortion activists. Thurman was a Black woman, 28 years old, who was already a mother. Thurman wanted to take care of her 6-year-old son, so she sought abortion treatment. Her last words to her own mother before she died were reportedly, “Promise me you’ll take care of my son.”
It cannot be said enough: Amber Thurman’s death was preventable.
Thurman deserved so much better than to be caught in the tug of war of legal challenges around Georgia’s six-week ban. She shouldn’t have had to travel to North Carolina to receive care. Thurman shouldn’t have been forced to travel to North Carolina for care. She should not have died waiting in a Georgia Hospital while doctors, administrators, and lawyers weighed their professional interests against Thurman’s deteriorating health condition. Thurman’s death, which was caused directly by the state’s abortion ban, is not the first to be reported since Roe v. Wade. ProPublica found that at least one death in Georgia was directly related to the refusal of abortion care. It’s important that, with every new death reported, the media reports that it was not only preventable but that each one was also a deliberate act of state violence against pregnant women.
