Family of woman killed because she couldn't have an abortion announces plans to sue: 'This could have been prevented'

The family of Amber Thurman, the 28-year-old Georgia woman who died in 2022 after “avoidable” delays in abortion care under the state’s restrictive law, plans to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

After taking abortion drugs, Thurman suffered a rare complication that left some fetal tissue in her body, which sent her to the hospital, where she fought for her life, vomiting and losing consciousness repeatedly.

She needed a routine procedure to remove remaining tissue – but doctors waited 20 hours to operate because they were caught up in the state's “extreme abortion laws,” Ben Crump, an attorney for the family, said at a news conference Tuesday.

Georgia's law, which bans most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, went into effect on July 20, 2022, just weeks after the Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Overturning Roe v. Wade.

A state committee made up of 10 doctors and other experts recently concluded that Thurman's death was “preventable.” ProPublica reported last week. The hospital's delay in carrying out dilation and curettage (D&C) had a “major” impact on her death, the committee found.

“When I found out this was preventable, the wound that had never healed opened even wider,” said Shanette Williams, Thurman's mother, while holding up a photo of her daughter at the news conference. “It's so disheartening. It's heartbreaking. It's annoying. I have every feeling a mother could have.”

Crump argued that both federal and state laws are at play.

The attorney pointed to EMTALA, a federal law that requires hospitals that provide emergency services to offer stabilizing treatment to all patients. “You have a duty to stabilize her and then give her the opportunity to go to another hospital facility. But you can’t let them suffer and die in your hospital bed when the death is “preventable,” Crump said.

Georgia-based attorney Michael Harper also argued that Thurman should have been saved under Georgia's six-week abortion law – which criminalizes abortion with few exceptions.

However, Thurman would have qualified for not one but two exemptions set forth in Georgia's “heartbeat” law, Harper said. The law allowed an abortion to be performed if a doctor determined there was a medical emergency or if the fetus was not viable – both of which applied to the 28-year-old. “There shouldn’t have been any confusion,” Harper said.

A judge in Georgia struck down the state's six-week abortion ban on Monday, years too late to save Thurman. Crump said the decision was “bittersweet for this family” as it was “not intended to save Amber's life” but can hopefully save others from the same fate.

Her mother said days after her death, Thurman, a medical assistant, was accepted into nursing school. “Now that dream is shattered,” she said. Crump said Amber was trying to give her and her son a “better life.”

“My sister is gone. I would hate for this to happen to another mother, sister or aunt. But Amber is gone. Does she really have to be a victim?” CJ Williams, Thurman’s sister, said at the press conference. “It hurts so much because this could have been prevented. Someone needs to be held accountable.”

“We want justice. We will bring justice to Amber,” she added.

Williams mentioned Thurman's son, who was just six years old when the tragedy occurred. She said her nephew often wonders about his mother. “Why did they take his best friend?” he asks.

Another sister, Andrika, also recalled the pain of having to tell her nephew that his mother would not be coming back. She said she told the child at the time: “We can’t see her. But we can feel them in our hearts.”

Crump said he plans to file a medical malpractice lawsuit on behalf of Thurman's family and his son. “We believe there was nothing preventing these doctors from taking action,” Crump said. The lawyer described the doctors as “negligent” for failing to inform the patient’s mother of her daughter’s deteriorating health and leaving the young mother lying in her hospital bed where she vomited and “turned blue.”

The family had no choice but to take Amber to another hospital because hospital staff did not inform her family of what was going on, Crump argued.

Thurman's death is the latest tragedy to highlight the dangers of increasing state abortion bans since then roe was repealed in 2022. Donald Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices – all of whom voted to overturn the landmark ruling. This decision has led to chaos and confusion as doctors and patients try to circumvent the restrictive bans.

“If we don’t do something about it, this could be your family’s reality too,” Crump said.