All Women Are In Danger Of Dying Like Amber And Candi

ALL WOMEN ARE IN DANGER OF DYING LIKE AMBER AND CANDI

Abortion bans are killing Black and brown women. 

In 2022, Georgia tragically lost two young Black women, Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, because of Georgia’s harsh abortion ban. According to a recent article in ProPublica, Amber Thurman lost her life after doctors at Piedmont-Henry Hospital refused to give her a routine dilation and curettage procedure for 20 hours during her miscarriage. 

When doctors finally intervened, it was too late because they feared Georgia’s draconian abortion ban which imposes on them both a felony conviction and termination of their medical license. Candi Miller suffered from lupus, diabetes, and hypertension. Due to these pre-existing conditions and additional circumstances, Candi’s health and pregnancy was already in jeopardy when she tried to self-abort. Fearing Georgia’s abortion law and felony prison sentence, Candi did not go to the doctor and ultimately died. Both women were prevented from receiving the care that they needed. 

SisterLove stands in solidarity with Candi Miller and Amber Thurman’s families when we say, Georgia lawmakers killed these two young women and countless others. 

Georgia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the nation. Further, Black birthing people in Georgia, have unacceptably and egregiously poor maternal health outcomes - including staggering rates of death related to pregnancy and childbirth. Georgia’s abortion ban directly exacerbates its already horrifying maternal mortality rate, and endangers the lives of all birthers in the state. 

According to a 2023 report published by Gender Equity Policy Institute, birthing people in states with abortion bans, such as Georgia, are nearly three times more likely to die during pregnancy. As such, Georgia’s draconian abortion ban must be overturned. 

Georgia’s abortion exceptions provision, a provision in the law that permits abortion when the life of the mother is in jeopardy, is so ambiguous that Georgia’s medical providers, legislators, citizens, and prosecutors do not know what, “the life of the mother” ultimately means. 

In what case is a woman's life in so much jeopardy that a physician can abort the fetus in Georgia? Amber’s doctors certainly didn’t know. Candi certainly didn’t know the answer, so she avoided medical treatment. We ultimately know that when the bill was drafted, legislators didn’t know how to define, “the life of the mother,” because they didn’t care. 

Their mandate was to ban all abortions, so they drafted an ambiguous law. 

SisterLove stands with millions of others when we say, abortion bans are a party mandate that does not consider the life of the mother. Candi and Amber would be alive today, had party politics not been a component of the vote. 

Therefore, Georgia’s six-week abortion ban should be overturned. 

SisterLove, as do the authors of the ProPublica article, sense that more cases like Amber’s and Candi’s will come forward, but we  may never know without investigative journalism. According to the September 16^th and September 18^th, 2024, articles from ProPublica, the Georgia Maternal Mortality Review Committee’s (Committee) detailed reports are not public. The Committee’s reports are quantitative. Therefore, we will never know how many countless women and gender expansive people have died at the hands of Georgia’s abortion ban. 

SisterLove stands with millions of others when we say that the Georgia Department of Public Health needs to be more transparent as it relates to the connection between abortion and Georgia’s  high maternal mortality rate. 

Over 79% of Georgian’s polled believe in a person’s right to make their own decision about their bodies, according to our partners at Amplify-Georgia. That same poll found that 71% – agree that “when a person decides to have an abortion, they should have access to timely, safe, legal, and affordable abortion care without shame, stigma, or punishment.

SisterLove believes we should put reproductive decisions in the hands of Georgians and enshrine a right to reproductive freedom in this state.

The death of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller is a wake-up call to Georgia citizens. Georgia policymakers have forgotten that they have a duty to protect all citizens of this state. They have failed to protect marginalized women in this state. Think about that when you vote this November, Amber and Cani’s death could have been prevented. We deserve better! In honor of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, SisterLove urges all who read this message to stand up with us, call your state policymakers, and fight for Reproductive Freedom. 

Join SisterLove in the fight for upholding all aspects of reproductive justice by signing on as a SisterLove E-advocate.