Vice President Kamala Harris Friday put the blame for the deaths of two Georgia women after doctors delayed abortion care squarely on former President Donald Trump.
At a mid-afternoon rally in Atlanta, the Democratic presidential nominee said the deaths of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller shortly after Georgia’s six-week abortion ban took effect in 2022 were a consequence of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion. Trump appointed three of the six justices who joined the majority in that 6-3 ruling.
“Doctors have to wait until the patient is at death’s door before they take action,” Harris said. “This is a health-care crisis. Donald Trump is the architect of that crisis.”
Thurman and Miller died after taking abortion medication left them with some fetal tissue remaining in their uteruses, ProPublica reported this week. Both needed a dilation and curettage (D&C), a common procedure that removes remaining fetal tissue.
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But in Thurman’s case, doctors delayed the procedure for 20 hours, worried they could run afoul of Georgia’s “heartbeat law,” which prohibits abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, typically at about six weeks into a pregnancy. Miller didn’t seek medical care because of the same concerns with the law, according to the ProPublica report.
“Amber’s death was preventable,” said Harris, who met Thursday night in Michigan with Thurman’s mother and sisters. “She should be alive today.”
Harris warned that if Republican nominee Trump is elected, he would sign a national abortion ban. If she is elected, she vowed to push for legislation codifying the Roe v. Wade decision into federal law.
In response to Harris’ appearance in Georgia, the Republican National Committee (RNC) accused Democrats of spreading misinformation about the two Georgia cases.
“The loss of any life is always a tragedy,” RNC spokesperson Morgan Ackley said. “[But] Georgia not only established clear exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother, but also included providing necessary care in the event of a medical emergency. There was no reason that doctors could not act swiftly to protect the lives of mothers.”
