You may have seen the headlines about the tragic death of Amber Nicole Thurman, who died from a septic infection after taking abortion drugs. Recently, a state committee deemed her death “preventable,” leading pro-abortion activists to try to falsely pin Ms. Thurman’s death on Georgia’s pro-life law.
Indeed, this tragedy was preventable. But the blame lies squarely on the abortion drugs Ms. Thurman obtained in another state—and the FDA’s recklessness in removing safeguards from these drugs.
The FDA’s recklessness endangers women
According to the FDA’s own label, roughly one in 25 women who use abortion drugs end up in the emergency room. Women and girls across the country have suffered serious, even life-threatening, complications such as severe bleeding, infections, or sepsis.
Despite these risks, the FDA has removed all in-person doctor visits, including necessary screenings for serious conditions and life-threatening complications like ectopic pregnancies as well as follow-up care, causing more women to end up in hospital emergency rooms. In fact, one study cited by the FDA showed that hospitalizations increased 300 percent with no in-person doctor visit.
Ms. Thurman’s story highlights these increased risks. Nine weeks pregnant, she traveled four hours to North Carolina to obtain abortion drugs. She took the first drug, mifepristone, at the abortion facility and was told to take the second drug, misoprostol, on her own—no doctor required.
Sadly, the abortion drugs ended the lives of Ms. Thurman’s twins, and the retained fetal tissue in her uterus led to an infection. Dr. Christina Francis, head of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, notes that retained fetal tissue is a “common complication of this kind of abortion at nine weeks.” But because of the FDA’s removal of various safeguards, the abortion provider in Ms. Thurman’s case was not required to follow-up with her.
At home, Ms. Thurman’s condition worsened from cramping to heavy bleeding to vomiting blood. Eventually, she passed out and was rushed to the hospital, where doctors were unable to save her life.
If the previous safeguards required by the FDA were still in place, Ms. Thurman would have had two follow-up visits with her doctors. But because the FDA rolled back these common-sense protections, women like Ms. Thurman are paying the price.
Georgia’s law protects women and unborn children
Abortion activists and multiple news outlets are falsely claiming that Georgia’s pro-life law (the LIFE Act) is to blame for Amber Thurman’s death.
Every state with pro-life laws, including Georgia, allows doctors to save the life of a mother by any means necessary. Indeed, numerous stipulations in Georgia’s pro-life law permitted doctors to treat Ms. Thurman immediately.
Dr. Francis further remarks, “The reason Georgia’s abortion law isn’t responsible for Thurman’s death is simple: It explicitly allows physicians to intervene in cases of medical emergencies or if the fetus has no detectable heartbeat (both of which applied to Thurman’s case).”
Thus, claims that Ms. Thurman would not have been able to receive proper medical care under Georgia’s law are simply untrue. The law explicitly defines abortion as terminating a pregnancy “with knowledge that termination will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of an unborn child.”
So procedures like dilation and curettage (D&C) are forbidden only when there is an intent to cause the death of an unborn child. Since Ms. Thurman’s twins were already deceased, there would have been nothing preventing her from getting a D&C to remove the source of her infection. Indeed, Ms. Thurman’s doctors have never blamed the law for her death.
Any argument that doctors were unable to treat Ms. Thurman is a shameless attempt to use tragedy to push a political agenda.
Abortion drugs are at fault
Unfortunately, misinformation about Ms. Thurman’s death and about abortion drugs in general is being used to target pro-life laws, not only in Georgia but across the country. Even in this upcoming election, several states have ballot measures that stand to greatly influence these kinds of decisions.
The terrible loss of Amber Thurman was a tragedy—a tragedy that could have been prevented had the FDA not failed to do its job to protect Americans. These dangerous drugs cause death, not only for unborn children but far too often for mothers like Ms. Thurman.
The FDA must be held accountable to restore the critical safety standards for abortion drugs and prioritize women’s health and safety.
For additional information and to learn the truth about abortion drugs, download ADF’s resource The Truth About Chemical Abortion Drugs: 3 Myths & 3 Facts.
