Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and other pro-life advocates call for justice for Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, two young Georgia mothers who died following failed abortions, and condemn dangerous misinformation spread by the abortion lobby and Democrats such as Vice President Kamala Harris to score political points.
“We mourn the senseless loss of Amber, Candi, and their unborn children. We agree their deaths were preventable. But let’s be absolutely clear: Georgia’s law and every pro-life state law calls on doctors to act in circumstances just like theirs. If abortion advocates weren’t spreading misinformation and confusion to score political points, it’s possible the outcome would have been different,” said SBA Pro-Life America’s State Policy Director Katie Daniel. “Amber and Candi deserve to be thriving together with their children today. We stand with state attorneys general who continue to fight for women’s health and safety and we call on every state to take action against deadly misinformation.”
- AAPLOG: Amber Thurman’s case is “one of the most clear-cut cases of medical malpractice (based on the information available publicly) that we have ever seen.”
- Christina Francis, board-certified ob-gyn and practicing obstetric hospitalist, in Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia’s abortion law was not responsible for young mom’s death
The Facts: Pro-Life Laws Protect Mothers and Babies
- Under every pro-life law, doctors must intervene to save women’s lives – and in states like Texas, the numbers show that they are doing so.
- The laws are clear: No state law, including Georgia’s, prevents a hospital from treating a woman in a medical emergency. A D&C to remove an unborn child that has died, or dead pregnancy tissue, is not an abortion (let alone a “felony” or “criminalized”) in Georgia or anywhere.
- Pro-life advocates have encouraged states to provide doctors the clarity they need.
- Neesha Lewis, a Georgia mom and medical professional, credits her state’s heartbeat protection law with saving her son’s life.
SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser added:
“The common factors in the tragic deaths of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller are dangerous abortion drugs and inappropriate care for their complications. Instead of a real investigation of the profit-driven abortion industry, pro-abortion media and Democrats who support no limits on abortion are running cover. The pro-life community has spent years raising the alarm about abortion drugs that send one in 25 women to the emergency room. Specifically, we’ve warned about illegal abortion drug rings like Aid Access that pocket a quick $80 while putting women’s lives in serious danger. Against those warnings, the Biden-Harris administration recklessly greenlit mail-order abortion drugs, and Democrat-run states even passed laws shielding illegal abortion drug sellers from accountability.”
Ingrid Skop, M.D., FACOG, a board-certified ob-gyn who serves as vice president and director of medical affairs at Charlotte Lozier Institute, stated:
“The tragic deaths of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller in Georgia demonstrate conclusively how dangerous medically unsupervised, ‘self-managed’ abortion drugs are, as we have been warning for years. Yet, the FDA has steadily removed important safeguards on these drugs, allowing them to be ordered online and delivered in the mail without a single in-person doctor visit. Both women suffered failed abortions requiring surgical treatment. Amber died from sepsis, a complication the FDA alerts physicians to watch for in its ‘black box’ warning on mifepristone. Physicians must be aware of this risk and swiftly intervene.
“Candi’s family states she did not seek medical care because she was worried about prosecution, but every pro-life state law prohibits prosecution of women for seeking an abortion. Intentional misinformation by pro-abortion media regarding criminal penalties and claims that abortion drugs are ‘safer than Tylenol’ frighten women so that they do not seek medical care when they suffer complications like severe pain and heavy bleeding. This misinformation is to blame for these women’s tragic deaths, not pro-life state laws protecting them and their unborn children.”
The Facts: Abortion Drugs Are Dangerous
- Abortion drugs are associated with significantly higher rates of severe or critical ED visits compared to surgical abortions and live births.
- In September 2022, 24-year-old mother Alyona Dixon – a Nevada resident – died of sepsis less than a week after seeking a drug-induced abortion at Planned Parenthood. Nevada has permissive abortion laws with few limits.
- Last year, 22 pro-life state attorneys general including Georgia AG Chris Carr sent a letterurging the FDA to reverse its dangerous decision to eliminate in-person distribution of abortion drugs.
- Abortion drug complications are sorely underreported to the FDA – only 5% are reported. From 2020-2022, a handful of states reported 1,004 complications while the FDA reported just 17.
