The Truth About Amber Thurman s Death – WSJ

Gov. Tim Walz dodged a question about Minnesota s permissive abortion statute at last week s debate by repeating a story about Georgia s restrictive one. He brought up the case of Amber Thurman, 28, of Atlanta, who had to travel a long distance to North Carolina to try and get her care because Georgia prohibits abortion after six weeks. Amber Thurman died in that journey back and forth, Mr. Walz said.

His source was an article by Kavitha Surana of ProPublica. Ms. Surana reports that in August 2022, nine weeks pregnant with twins, Thurman made an appointment at a North Carolina clinic for a dilation-and-curettage procedure, or D&C, a surgical abortion. She drove there, arrived late, and was given mifepristone and misoprostol instead. After taking the first pill, she insisted on driving home before any symptoms started.

Days later, after vomiting and passing out at home, Thurman was taken to a suburban Atlanta hospital, where she reported a tender abdomen. Doctors noted a foul odor during a pelvic exam, and an ultrasound showed possible tissue in her uterus. Thurman needed a D&C, but according to Ms. Surana, the state had criminalized that procedure, with few exceptions, and practitioners who performed it risked up to a decade in prison. Physicians operated some 20 hours after her admission, after diagnosing her with acute severe sepsis. She died.

In the 56th paragraph of the story, Ms. Surana acknowledges: It is not clear from the records available why doctors waited to provide a D&C to Thurman. Mr. Walz obviously didn t read that far, and the article s title is meant to give the opposite impression: Abortion Bans Have Delayed Emergency Medical Care. In Georgia, Experts Say This Mother s Death Was Preventable.

via www.wsj.com

Nicholas Tomaino.