The Cost of Delay: Amber Thurman's Preventable Death Highlights Dangers of Abortion Bans

[Social Media]

 

Amber Nicole Thurman’s story is one of tragedy and loss. The 28-year-old medical assistant from Georgia lost her life due to complications that could have been prevented. After taking abortion pills, Thurman experienced a rare complication where some fetal tissue remained in her body. She sought medical help at Piedmont Henry Hospital in suburban Atlanta, needing a dilation and curettage (D&C) procedure, which would have removed the remaining tissue and treated her infection. 

 

 

However, in the summer of 2022, Georgia passed a law criminalizing abortions with limited exceptions. The hospital delayed providing the D&C for 20 hours, and by the time they finally performed the procedure, it was too late. Thurman’s infection had spread, her organs were failing, and she died. 

 

This death, according to an official state committee, was preventable. Tasked with reviewing pregnancy-related deaths to improve maternal health, the committee determined that the hospital’s delay in providing the necessary medical care played a significant role in Thurman’s death. “There is a good chance” that performing a D&C earlier could have saved her life, the committee concluded.

 

Thurman’s case is one of at least two in Georgia where women have died due to delays in accessing abortion care, according to ProPublica. As abortion bans take effect across the U.S., similar cases are coming to light. Doctors and advocates have long warned that such laws, with their vague and non-medical language, would force healthcare providers to choose between protecting their patients’ health and avoiding prosecution. Dr. Melissa Kottke, an OB-GYN at Emory University, cautioned legislators in 2019, saying doctors would feel compelled to wait for their patients to get sicker before intervening.

 

The law in Georgia does allow exceptions to save the mother’s life, but critics argue that the wording of these exceptions is unclear and difficult to interpret. Medical professionals, fearful of facing up to 10 years in prison, may delay necessary treatment. In Thurman’s case, although she presented with severe symptoms of sepsis, including critically low blood pressure, the hospital chose to wait, testing her for sexually transmitted infections and pneumonia instead of performing the D&C.

 

Thurman’s death occurred two weeks after Georgia’s abortion ban went into effect. Her mother and six-year-old son now live with the painful absence of a woman who loved being a mother. Her son, who was at the center of her world, now faces life without her.

 

Amber Thurman’s story is a sobering reminder of the real-life consequences of abortion bans. As states across the country continue to restrict access to abortion, stories like hers are becoming more frequent, shining a light on the dangers of political interference in medical care.

 

Credit: ProPublica 2024-09-18

 

 

 

[JCauto]

This was state-sponsored murder by abortion zealots.

[herfiehandbag]

I am personally against abortion, on moral and faith grounds, (I am a Catholic), but to withhold medical treatment in a case such as this is (as) evil.

 

The state, and legislation, and politics, should play no part in determining or dictating the healthcare available to women.

 

It is not a place for a political "solution", or for the courts.

Edited Tuesday at 11:56 PM by herfiehandbag

[Chomper Higgot]

RIP Amber.

 

Didn’t one of the candidates for the Presidency discuss this very specific risk and consequences of pregnant women being denied healthcare as a direct result of the other candidate’s ’victory’ over Rowe v Wade?!

 

 

 

 

[impulse]

6 hours ago, Social Media said:

However, in the summer of 2022, Georgia passed a law criminalizing abortions with limited exceptions. The hospital delayed providing the D&C for 20 hours, and by the time they finally performed the procedure, it was too late. Thurman’s infection had spread, her organs were failing, and she died. 

 

Strangely, they didn't draw a correlation between those 2.  Nowhere do they claim that the reason for the delay was that Georgia law.

 

It's just as likely the delay was due to normal problems like insurance approvals, lack of staff, specialist consultations, or any number of reasons people sit in ER waiting rooms for hours.  And wait weeks to get appointments.  Especially since Obamacare. (there, I said it...)

 

[Social Media]

A post making a number of unsubstaniated claims has been removed.

[newnative]

Turning America  into a third  world  country. 

[rudi49jr]

1 hour ago, newnative said:

Turning America  into a third  world  country. 

A sh!thole country?

[placeholder]

2 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Strangely, they didn't draw a correlation between those 2.  Nowhere do they claim that the reason for the delay was that Georgia law.

 

It's just as likely the delay was due to normal problems like insurance approvals, lack of staff, specialist consultations, or any number of reasons people sit in ER waiting rooms for hours.  And wait weeks to get appointments.  Especially since Obamacare. (there, I said it...)

 

You said it, and, not surprisingly, offered no evidence for it. 

[impulse]

Just now, placeholder said:

You said it, and, not surprisingly, offered no evidence for it. 

 

Not my burden.  If they're going to write an article connecting the Georgia law with her death, that burden is on them.  

 

Nowhere did they show evidence that the hospital delayed her treatment because of that law.

 

[placeholder]

3 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Not my burden.  If they're going to write an article connecting the Georgia law with her death, that burden is on them.  

 

Nowhere did they show evidence that the hospital delayed her treatment because of that law.

 

Well, the article here is based on a much longer article from Pro Publica. What we do know is this:

The availability of D&Cs for both abortions and routine miscarriage care helped save lives after the 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade, studies show, reducing the rate of maternal deaths for women of color by up to 40% the first year after abortion became legal.

https://www.propublica.org/article/georgia-abortion-ban-amber-thurman-death

[impulse]

13 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Well, the article here is based on a much longer article from Pro Publica. What we do know is this:

The availability of D&Cs for both abortions and routine miscarriage care helped save lives after the 1973 Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade, studies show, reducing the rate of maternal deaths for women of color by up to 40% the first year after abortion became legal.

https://www.propublica.org/article/georgia-abortion-ban-amber-thurman-death

 

2 comments: 

 

1) They still haven't connected her tragic death with the abortion law, except by guess.  The panel isn't allowed to discuss individual cases.

 

2) For every tragic death, how many bouncing, happy babies are alive today because of the same law(s)?

 

[placeholder]

12 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

2 comments: 

 

1) They still haven't connected her tragic death with the abortion law, except by guess.  The panel isn't allowed to discuss individual cases.

 

2) For every tragic death, how many bouncing, happy babies are alive today because of the same law(s)?

 

Despite Bans, Number of Abortions in the United States Increased in 2023

https://www.guttmacher.org/2024/03/despite-bans-number-abortions-united-states-increased-2023

[thaibeachlovers]

Why are so many US women opting to not use contraception and using abortion as birth control? IUDs are a long term contraceptive and don't rely on pills that may be forgotten or not work.

[Tug]

7 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Why are so many US women opting to not use contraception and using abortion as birth control? IUDs are a long term contraceptive and don't rely on pills that may be forgotten or not work.

S#it happens…..and keep in mind the retrumplicans are after birth control as well many are religious zealots……we don’t need the government involved in our sex lives and certainly not involved in women making the choice to start a family.

[john donson]

land of the free, right?

[JCauto]

8 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Why are so many US women opting to not use contraception and using abortion as birth control? IUDs are a long term contraceptive and don't rely on pills that may be forgotten or not work.

 

Where is your evidence that there is a situation where "so many US women opting to not use contraception and using abortion as birth control"?  IUDs are not a good method of birth control for many women due to pain and other reasons. Why is it only women's responsibility for birth control? If and when a male birth control pill comes out (already under trial), will men be forced to use it or have to take care of any babies they produce? You're in favour of that, right?

The Right stands for freedom? What a joke!