Mother Of Georgia Woman Who Died From Abortion Ban: ‘A Part Of Me Is Gone’

The family of Amber Thurman, a Black woman who died because of Georgia’s abortion ban, spoke for the first time at length Tuesday about her death in 2022 and how it has shaped their lives ever since.

They shared their story on a press call hosted by Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, as she makes the case that if former President Donald Trump returns to office, there might be more tragedies like Thurman’s.

“Amber was not a statistic. She was loved by a family,” Shanette Williams, Thurman’s mother, said on the call, nearly in tears. “When I looked at her and reassured her that she was in the best care, I had no clue … that this could have been prevented.”

Thurman’s mother and father, along with her two sisters, CJ and Andrika Thurman, spoke on the call, which also included Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff (D) and Raphael Warnock (D), as well as Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta who now works as a senior adviser to the Harris-Walz campaign.

ProPublica told the story of Amber Thurman’s death in a report published last month. The 28-year-old mother died after a Georgia hospital delayed lifesaving medical care when she experienced rare complications from a medication abortion.

“My nephew’s scared to go to the doctor. He’s scared to go to the hospital because he says, ‘Tití [aunt], what if they do me, how they did my mom?’” Andrika Thurman said. “How do you explain that to an 8-year-old? How do you explain to an 8-year-old that his mother suffered in agonizing pain for 20 hours?”

Amber Thurman had to drive to North Carolina to receive care because her home state had recently enacted its six-week abortion ban. When Thurman arrived home, she didn’t feel good and was taken to a hospital in Georgia where physicians reportedly delayed lifesaving care for nearly 20 hours, likely fearful of criminal punishment included in the state’s abortion ban. Thurman eventually died from sepsis, leaving behind her 6-year-old son.

Thurman’s family described how difficult it is to see her photo or name pop up on the news, but they’re speaking up now because they want to do something to honor her. Williams recalled how genuine and compassionate Harris was when she met the vice president.

“When I met Kamala, she never asked, ‘Was I Democratic or was I Republican?’ She really wanted to know if I was OK … I felt that she really cared,” Williams said.

Harris has spoken repeatedly on the campaign trail about Thurman and Candi Miller, another woman who died from Georgia’s abortion ban. She has railed against her opponent Trump for handpicking the Supreme Court justices who were critical in overturning federal abortion protections — green-lighting the nearly 20 states, including Georgia, that have enacted abortion bans.

“I’m thankful to the vice president for making my daughter’s death an issue and not letting it be swept under the rug,” Andre Thurman, Amber Thurman’s father, said on Tuesday’s call. The press call was the first time he has spoken publicly about his daughter’s death.

Three days after Amber Thurman died, she was accepted into nursing school, Williams said — something that the 28-year-old had been working toward for months. CJ and Andrika Thurman described their sister as the “it girl,” who had attitude and loved to dance. She loved being around her family, and her son was her best friend.

“My heart is overwhelmed with pain,” Williams said. “Some days I can’t even explain it … all I know is a part of me is gone as a mother.”

The last time CJ and Andrika Thurman saw their sister was on FaceTime before she went into the operating room. Doctors had finally decided to give her a common surgical procedure called dilation and curettage, or D&C, but the care came too late. Georgia’s maternal mortality review committee concluded that there is a “good chance” that providing a D&C earlier would have saved Amber Thurman’s life. The sisters recalled that Thurman’s face was blue, swollen and chapped, and that their normally chatty sibling was quiet.

“That face just haunts me. I see it everywhere,” CJ Thurman said through tears.

“She stared at me, and I stared at her, only she knew that she would never see me again,” Andrika Thurman added later. “I didn’t know that I would never see my sister again.”