Walz Repeats Georgia Abortion Death Falsehood Decried by Doctors as ‘Fearmongering’
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz claimed during the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate that a woman in Georgia likely died due to the state’s “restrictive” abortion laws following the overturning of Roe, despite doctors previously denouncing such a narrative as “fearmongering.”
Walz mentioned a young woman named Amber Thurman, who had to travel to North Carolina for her care due to Georgia’s laws. He stated, “Amber Thurmond died in that journey back and forth. The fact of the matter is, how can we as a nation say that your life and your rights, as basic as the right to control your own body, is determined on geography?”
Walz’s remarks come after ProPublica published an article blaming the deaths of two Georgia women, Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller, on the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the state’s new abortion limits. However, OB-GYNs have criticized this narrative as misleading, pointing out that Georgia’s laws allow doctors to intervene in medical emergencies.
Dr. Ingrid Skop, vice president and director of medical affairs at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, stated, “Georgia’s laws allow doctors to act in circumstances just like theirs. If abortion advocates weren’t spreading misinformation and confusion to score political points, it’s possible the outcome would have been different.”
Rep. Rich McCormick and state Rep. Mark Newton also disputed the claim, attributing Thurman’s death to complications from abortion pills rather than the state’s laws. They emphasized that Georgia’s heartbeat law includes exceptions for medical emergencies and that the mother’s life is always protected.
