Medical Failures and Political Fearmongering, Not Pro-Life Policies, Caused Georgia Maternal Deaths| National Catholic Register

COMMENTARY: Politically charged reporting that followed in the wake of these tragic events failed to examine the true reasons these women didn’t receive proper medical care.

The loss of Georgia mothers Amber Thurman and Candi Miller are a tragic example of the very real dangers of chemical abortion and a shameful manipulation of the facts to undermine pro-life laws.

As a pro-life American, I am angered that these stories are being used as political fodder to falsely target Georgia’s “abortion restrictions” and incite further division around the issue of abortion.

As an OB-GYN, I am saddened by their deaths because they were entirely preventable.

Amber Thurman

In Thurman’s case, she arrived at the hospital extremely ill and displayed the classic symptoms that every OB-GYN should recognize as requiring an immediate dilation and curettage (D&C) — a procedure that removes tissue from the uterine wall. Despite these warning signs, she didn’t receive a D&C until 20 hours later. By then, it was too late.

But Thurman’s care and ensuing death had nothing to do with Georgia law. She should have received a D&C as soon as she arrived at the hospital, and the Georgia committee reviewing Thurman’s case found that providing one earlier could have prevented her death. Although neither the hospital nor the doctors have explained why they waited so long to operate on Thurman, pro-abortion activists have rushed to assign a motive, claiming that Georgia’s abortion restrictions led the doctors to fear being charged with a felony for performing a D&C.

Media reports have claimed that D&Cs are illegal in Georgia, but this is a blatant falsehood used to stoke fear and political unrest. This procedure is legal in all 50 states and is frequently used for treating women during a miscarriage. There’s no excuse for the breakdowns in medical care that led to Thurman’s death, and this politically charged reporting is complicit by not examining the true reasons the doctors failed to help her.

Candi Miller

False reporting and talking points have inspired fear and caused women to avoid the medical community, resulting in tragic, preventable deaths like Candi Miller’s. After discovering her pregnancy would cause complications in conjunction with her several chronic illnesses, Miller took abortion drugs but experienced complications. Instead of seeking emergency care at the hospital, Miller suffered at home until she died.

Miller’s family said she was afraid to seek care because of “the current legislation on pregnancies and abortions.” She had been served nonstop lies by the media in the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, alleging women with her chronic pre-existing conditions could be prosecuted for seeking help during an abortion. Even though Georgia law is clear that doctors can help women in Candi’s situation, and no state abortion law prosecutes women, she was afraid to seek help. This fearmongering is unscientific, untrue and complicit in women’s deaths.

Ignoring the Dangers of Abortion Pills

The scapegoating of pro-life laws is a shameful distraction from the root cause of both Thurman’s and Miller’s deaths: the so-called safety of abortion drugs. Thurman took supposedly “safe and effective” legal abortion drugs and sought care for complications.

Yet again, this political narrative surrounding chemical abortion is untrue and points to more negligence and misinformation that put women at risk, such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s reckless removal of safeguards to protect women taking these dangerous drugs. The FDA did away with requirements for in-person dispensing of abortion drugs and says follow-up visits aren’t necessary, even though the FDA’s own label for mifepristone warns that nearly 1 in 25 women had to seek emergency care during clinical trials. 

Instead of partnering with a physician who could provide ongoing care and monitoring, Thurman was simply given abortion drugs and told to go to the ER if she had complications. Women like Miller who order abortion drugs online receive no guidance from doctors. This has become standard chemical abortion practice.

Women like Amber Thurman and Candi Miller are routinely abandoned by the medical community and left to decide on their own whether they are sick enough to seek help. In the name of providing “choice” and “reproductive freedom,” medical facilities and doctors are deceiving women about the risk of chemical abortions and ignoring the standard of informed consent. By failing to provide proper information and care for post-abortive women, they violate their oath to “do no harm.”

Politically Compromised

The silence of medical associations on these issues reveals a deeply disturbing negligence. Instead of working to provide clarity on cases like these, so patients, doctors and communities understand the law and their options for care, they join in the chorus of attacks on pro-life laws. Then they exacerbate the issue by echoing the pro-abortion dogma that abortion drugs are safe to take at home without the supervision of a physician. This chaos and confusion is part of their plan to fuel opposition to pro-life laws, but at what cost?

This manipulation is costing women their lives. It’s time for doctors to renounce this appalling agenda and instead focus on providing women the care they need. Proper education is a key step forward and matters on all levels — for patients, doctors, hospital systems and communities. The American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs is partnering with states like South Dakota to help executive branches explain their laws. The state’s Medical Education Act is designed to create an educational video for doctors, lawyers, hospital systems and patients to help them understand what the law allows. Other executive branches and state medical associations need to follow suit and prioritize education.

Breaking the Silence

Women need access to information about cases like Thurman’s and Miller’s, but journalists need to report responsibly and not give in to political narratives. Ultimately, the best way to combat misinformation is for physicians to stand up for their patients’ rights and safety. It won’t be politically correct or lucrative, but it will restore medical ethics and save lives.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 80% of maternal deaths are preventable, and these Georgia cases certainly were. Thurman’s case shows an obvious breakdown in medical care, and Miller’s demonstrates the dire need for better education. Both showcase the power of the media and politicians in skewing facts for political gain.  

With 63% of abortions in 2023 involving abortion drugs, it’s more important than ever that the medical community advocate for and protect its most vulnerable patients — those intimidated and manipulated into thinking they have no choice but to suffer in silence. 

Let these women’s tragic deaths mark the end of using poor medical care and politically charged misinformation to attack pro-life policies and promote a radical abortion agenda.