Content Warning: SPARK and our partner organizations recently learned about the tragic deaths of Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller due to Georgia’s abortion ban (HB481).
Monday, September 16, 2024, marked what would have been Amber Nicole Thurman’s 31st Birthday. Unfortunately, Amber did not reach that milestone: she passed away on August 19, 2022, at the age of 28, due to medical negligence.
In 2022, Amber Thurman was given a legally obtained abortion pill from a clinic employee. Upon returning home, Amber suffered from increasing pain and heavy bleeding. When Amber went to a nearby hospital, doctors refused to treat her out of fear of being charged with a felony. After Amber had been in the hospital for a day, and only hours after her organs began to fail, doctors finally took her in for surgery. Unfortunately, it was too late. Amber passed away because of this delay in care, leaving behind a six year old son.
On November 12, 2022, Candi Miller was found unresponsive in her bed with her 3-year-old daughter by her side. When Candi became pregnant unintentionally, she knew she could not continue with her pregnancy because it was high risk due to serious health issues. Her physicians told her that another baby could kill her. With Georgia’s abortion laws restricting abortion access to folks like Candi, she chose to self-manage her abortion and to not visit the hospital even when her pain became unbearable. Candi’s death was completely preventable. She died because she couldn’t seek the care she needed due to Georgia’s abortion ban. She left behind her husband and three children.
Amber Thurman and Candi Miller’s stories are different, yet heartbreakingly similar. Amber sought care and couldn’t attain it because her medical providers feared criminalization. Candi did not seek care because she feared criminalization. Both fears come from the restriction of standard medical care. These women had to navigate a failure of care brought on by a healthcare system that often ignores the pain and needs of Black people and exacerbated by an unjust and dangerous law meant to further limit access to life-saving care.
To be clear, self-managing abortion with medications is safe and not to blame for these tragic deaths. Georgia Healthcare providers have repeatedly warned that abortion bans make pregnancy more dangerous and put people’s lives at risk. Georgia’s abortion ban is the reason Candi Miller and Amber Nicole Thurman, both mothers, are not alive today, leaving behind their families and loved ones. And while Georgia’s six-week ban is dangerous, it is important to know that early abortion and miscarriage management happens safely and legally everyday in the state. The Repro Legal Helpline and the Miscarriage + Abortion Hotline are critical resources to ensure your abortion and miscarriage experiences are as safe as possible.
SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW extends our heartfelt condolences to the families of Amber and Candi. These tragic deaths laid bare what we already know to be true, reproductive injustice is a systemic problem. Laws that restrict and criminalize abortion access will only lead to more harm and death. Abortion access is life-saving. SPARK will continue our grassroots organizing and mobilization efforts to continue to educate our community base (Black women, BIPOC Queer, Trans, and gender-expansive people, and young folx) more about their choices, how to further combat these harmful bans, understanding Amber and Candi’s stories, and ways to continue to build and shift power.
Georgia must not wait for one more preventable tragedy to act. We call on our state lawmakers: Repeal the harmful abortion restrictions that cost Amber and Candi their lives, and expand access to care for all Georgians so this never has to occur again.
Resources:
Free, confidential legal and medical support: reprolegalhelpline.com; mahotline.com
Help to find a clinic and make a plan: arc-southeast.org
Sign the petition demanding Georgia Legislators pass the Reproductive Freedom Act: https://amplify-ga.org/rfa
Database for independent abortion clinics throughout the U.S.: https://abortioncarenetwork.org/
Talking Points
Tragic Case of Amber Nicole Thurman
Amber Nicole Thurman died as a result of medical negligence, despite Georgia’s abortion ban containing exceptions for life-threatening situations, highlighting systemic failures in healthcare delivery for BIPOC communities.
Tragic Case of Candi Miller
Candi Miller died as a result of fearing potentially life-saving medical attention due to Georgia’s abortion ban (HB481) not accounting for chronic conditions, including those that are known to present lethal risks later in pregnancy.
Yes, this is a RJ Issue
These tragedies affirm how reproductive justice is not just about abortion access but also about the broader right to quality, life-saving healthcare for all, especially for BIPOC communities who are disproportionately impacted by these systems. Our communities, Black women, Black Queer and Trans and gender expansive folx (folx within the furthest proximities to power) are disproportionately harmed by policies and systems and angrily this story is not isolated to our daily experiences.
Systemic Issues
Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller’s death are the result of intersecting issues: racism in healthcare, restrictive abortion laws, and economic and gender-based disparities that create additional barriers for marginalized communities to access appropriate care.
Healthcare Neglect of BIPOC
Black birthing people face higher rates of maternal mortality, morbidity and mortality directly linked to being pregnant and birthing, and significant health inequities, and Amber’s case exemplifies the ongoing, systemic negligence that continues to claim the lives of Black women, Black trans folx, and gender-expansive people.
Georgia Abortion Ban Fails
Although Georgia’s abortion law includes exceptions for cases where the pregnant person’s life is at risk, it failed to protect Amber. Fear of prosecution under Georgia’s abortion laws resulted in Candi’s untimely death. These cases, and many more, point to the law’s inadequacies and the deeply ingrained biases in the medical system.
The medical system is just that, a system, and these systems– none of them– were designed to assure we (BIPOC folx) are healthy, safe, liberated and free. These systems do not work!
Lack of Accountability in Medical Institutions
Amber Thurman and Candi Miller’s stories are different, yet heartbreakingly similar. Amber sought care and couldn’t attain it because her medical providers feared criminalization. Candi did not seek care because she feared criminalization. Both fears come from the restriction of standard medical care. These women had to navigate a failure of care brought on by a healthcare system that often ignores the pain and needs of Black people and exacerbated by an unjust and dangerous law meant to further limit access to life-saving care.
Reproductive Injustice as a Systemic Problem
Amber and Candi’s deaths reflect a larger pattern of reproductive injustice where laws, policies, and healthcare systems continue to deny Black people the dignity and care we deserve.
Addressing Racial Bias in Healthcare
This case emphasizes the need to address the racism in healthcare that leads to delayed and/or denied care for Black patients. AND, the 2 year delay in public health agencies in reporting Amber’s case. We must fight for anti-racist policies and training to be mandatory in healthcare settings.
Combating Misinformation in Reproductive Healthcare
Everyone is entitled to accurate information about their reproductive health, including abortion care. Medication abortion is safe and effective, and we will continue to fight for its access.
Call to Action – Demand Policy Change
We demand that Georgia’s abortion laws be stricken down! And, that there is accountability for the healthcare systems and providers responsible for enforcing them.
SPARK’s Commitment
SPARK will continue our grassroots organizing and mobilization efforts to continue to educate our community base (Black women, BIPOC Queer, Trans, and gender-expansive people, and young folx) more about the bans and understanding Amber and Candi’s stories, and ways to continue to build and shift power.
Our JusticeNOW2024 conference, taking place November 15-17, is a space created intentionally for this– more collaborative and collective conversations, continuing to build collective power.
Strategizing on the importance of building underground care networks and just how we can organize to keep each other safe, because the community will be there for us before the state.
We call on community members, advocates, and accomplices to join SPARK and the reproductive justice movement by pushing for legislative changes, supporting grassroots movements, and amplifying the voices of those impacted by these injustices.
Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller’s deaths are a reminder that our work for reproductive justice, liberation, and freedom is far from over.
Reproductive Justice is about more than a person’s bodily autonomy. It’s a movement rooted in the belief that individuals and communities should have the resources and power to make sustainable and liberatory decisions about their bodies, genders, sexualities, and lives.