Vice President Harris spoke powerfully on Friday about the pain experienced by women in states that ban abortion, placing full blame for their suffering on Republicans and former President Trump.
In remarks in Atlanta that focused solely on abortion rights, Governor Harris cited Amber Nicole Thurman, a 28-year-old Georgia woman who died from an infection resulting from a rare complication from a medication abortion.
“Let's say her name: Amber Nicole Thurman,” Harris said, leading a call-and-response from the crowd: “Amber Nicole Thurman.”
Recent ProPublica reportAfter seeking medical help for an incomplete abortion, Thurman waited 20 hours at a suburban Atlanta hospital before doctors could provide the care she needed.
A state medical board investigation found her death was “preventable,” due in large part to delays in hospital care.
“We understand the impact of these bans and the horrific reality that women, their families, husbands, partners, parents and children face their consequences every day since Roe was overturned,” Harris said.
“The reality is that for every story we hear about the suffering caused by President Trump's abortion ban, there are many more we don't hear — but that suffering is happening every day in our country,” she continued.
Thurman's family met with Harris at the “Unite for America” rally with Oprah Winfrey in Michigan on Thursday.
In her remarks Friday, Harris said she had spoken with Thurman's sisters and mother.
“As she asked, I promised to make sure Amber is remembered and not just as a statistic,” Harris said. “People will know that she was a mother, a daughter, a sister, she was loved, and she should have been alive today.”
Trump has repeatedly bragged about his role in overturning Roe, and the speech was part of an effort by the Harris campaign to pin the consequences of state abortion bans directly on him.
“Doctors should not take action until a patient is on the brink of death,” Harris said, refuting President Trump's exceptions to the abortion ban. “Think about what we're saying right now: we're saying that good policy, logical policy, moral policy, humane policy, means that health care providers should only begin to provide care when a patient is on the brink of death.”
