Kamala Harris cites Trump abortion ban for death of woman after medical care delayed

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris condemned anti-abortion laws in Georgia on Tuesday after a report in ProPublica revealed that a woman there died from delayed medical care caused by the US state’s restrictive regulations.

Amber Nicole Thurman, 28, developed a rare complication from abortion pills and died during emergency surgery in August 2022, with an official state committee blaming the fatal outcome on a “preventable” lag in performing a critical procedure.

Georgia had just passed a law that made performing dilation and curettage (D&C) a felony offence, with medical exceptions that doctors had warned were vague and difficult to interpret.

The US Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn national abortion rights unleashed a wave of bans and restrictions in 22 states, thrusting reproductive rights to the forefront of the coming presidential election.

“Women are bleeding out in parking lots, turned away from emergency rooms, losing their ability to ever have children again,” Harris said in a statement following the report’s release.