‘Just a lie’: Healthcare workers call out false narrative on woman’s death after abortion pill

Just over a week ago, ProPublica released an article blaming the death of a young Georgia mom, Amber Thurman, on Georgia’s pro-life law. After obtaining the abortion pill regimen from a facility in North Carolina in the summer of 2022, she returned home and began to experience complications. She soon showed signs of infection. At the hospital, Thurman was treated with a regimen of antibiotics for sepsis, but a D&C to remove the retained fetal tissue from her incomplete abortion of 9-week twins was delayed for unexplained reasons, until her condition grew so critical that a hysterectomy was attempted. Thurman did not survive the surgery.

In that article, ProPublica falsely claimed that D&Cs are a felony in Georgia except in limited circumstances. But D&Cs, which are used for various gynecological purposes, are allowed even in states with pro-life laws — unless used to intentionally kill a child in the womb. And in Thurman’s case, the medical emergency portion of Georgia’s law would have allowed an induced abortion on a living preborn child in an emergency like sepsis.

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Despite fact checks from various pro-life organizations, including Live Action News, ProPublica repeated the lie about D&Cs in a subsequent article about Candi Miller, another woman who died in Georgia in 2022 after taking the abortion pill. However, Miller’s autopsy report and other documents seem to create more questions than answers. Notably, ProPublica failed to investigate any abortion-pill related deaths that took place either prior to the reversal of Roe v. Wade, or in jurisdictions that have few or no restrictions on abortion.

Quickly, medical professionals began to respond to ProPublica’s claims and attempts to blame Thurman’s death on Georgia’s pro-life laws. One X user named “Jules” stated that she is a nurse, saying, “Doctors kill patients all the time. It is not illegal to remove dead fetal tissue in Georgia and if some dumb a** doctor let a woman die because he is stupid, that is his fault.”

Another X user who said she has been an ER nurse in Georgia for 21 years commented, “It’s all just a lie! NO ONE would ever refuse medical care to a woman who needed a D&C. That’s absolutely outrageous and not even a thought with medical providers.”

Audrey NavCav 🇺🇸🇺🇸

@AudreyNavCav

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Replying to @conservmillen

As an ER nurse (for 21 years) in Georgia, this infuriates me. It’s all just a lie! NO ONE would ever refuse medical care to a woman who needed a D&C. That’s absolutely outrageous and not even a thought with medical providers. It’s disgusting and makes me livid!

1:35 AM · Sep 19, 2024

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Another nurse on X responded, “As a nurse, I strongly disagree that the medical community ever turns seriously ill patients away. We always try our best to save lives no matter what.”

RoxyRose

@RoxyRos63258021

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Replying to @KamalaHarris

You are not telling the truth. This is not happening in the state of Georgia. As a nurse, I strongly disagree that the medical community ever turns seriously ill patients away. We always try our best to save lives no matter what.

6:55 PM · Sep 19, 2024

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A woman named Cindy stated that she, too, is an ER nurse, writing, “Georgia law is VERY clear regarding what medical providers are allowed to do in cases of medical emergency… A diagnosis of sepsis is a LIFE THREATENING diagnosis…” She added that instead of blaming the law, this was a case of “medical malpractice for sure.”

cindy cleveland

@cindy_cleveland

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Replying to @Brian_Chovanec

Georgia law is VERY clear regarding what medical providers are allowed to do in cases of medical emergency. I am an ER nurse. A diagnosis of sepsis is a LIFE THREATENING diagnosis. This should have been abundantly clear to the doctors and staff. Medical malpractice for sure.

10:10 PM · Sep 19, 2024

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X user Greg J. Marchand MD stated, “I’m an OBGYN. [Kamala Harris is] just a lying piece of sh!t. There are no states where a woman must be on death’s door. In all 50 states an OBGYN can terminate a pregnancy whenever THEY deem a woman’s health is in danger. This is just a lie.”

Greg J. Marchand MD

@MarchandSurgery

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I'm an OBGYN She's just a lying piece of sh!t. There are no states where a woman must be on death's door. In all 50 states an OBGYN can terminate a pregnancy whenever THEY deem a woman's health is in danger. This is just a lie.

Kamala Harris

@KamalaHarris

In state after state, Trump Abortion Bans have criminalized reproductive care. Must a woman be on death's door before a doctor or a nurse can provide help?

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2:21 PM · Sep 20, 2024

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Dr. Calum Miller, who lives in the UK, even weighed in, calling it “completely insane” to blame pro-lifers or pro-life laws for Thurman’s death after taking the abortion pill. “Abortion pills killed Amber Thurman as well as her unborn bab[ies]. Blame them and all the people promoting self-managed abortion as ‘safe.'”

Dr. Calum Miller

@DrCalumMiller

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So let me get this clear, abortion pills killed a women in Georgia and y’all are trying to blame pro-lifers? Completely insane. Abortion pills killed Amber Thurman as well as her unborn baby. Blame them and all the people promoting self-managed abortion as “safe”

12:01 AM · Sep 18, 2024

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Urge Walmart, Costco, Kroger, and other major chains to resist pressure to dispense the abortion pill