OPINION:
The heartbreaking death of Amber Nicole Thurman raises critical concerns about the risks associated with abortion pills and the broader landscape of abortion. It is essential to examine the facts and address the preventable factors that contributed to this loss, especially regarding the documented risks of medication abortion and the removal of crucial safety measures.
Abortion pills, while marketed as a safe and simple solution, carry real risks. Mifepristone and misoprostol, the drugs involved in medical abortions, are not without complications. A study published in Obstetrics & Gynecology reported that up to 5% of women who take abortion pills incomplete abortions, meaning that fetal remains are left in utero, potentially leading to infection, sepsis and bleeding.
This is exactly what happened in Amber’s case. Had the proper precautions been in place, such as required ultrasounds and follow-up care with a qualified medical provider, the 28-year-old mother’s death likely could have been prevented.
When the Food and Drug Administration first approved the abortion pill regimen, it implemented risk evaluation and mitigation strategies, or REMS, to protect women from these risks. REMS required in-person visits, an ultrasound to confirm gestational age and follow-up appointments to ensure no fetal tissue remained.
In recent years, these safeguards have been stripped away, making it easier to obtain abortion pills via telemedicine or even by mail without the critical involvement of medical professionals. Women not only administer their own abortion pills but also must assess and manage their own symptoms. Because women are promised privacy when they are sold abortion pills, many are hesitant to seek medical care when symptoms indicate the need. In Amber’s case, she did not access emergency care quickly enough when her complications arose — a tragic consequence of these relaxed FDA regulations.
The FDA’s omission of medical oversight and ultrasounds from the abortion pill process is no small matter.
Without an ultrasound, there is no way to confirm whether the pregnancy is ectopic, which can be life-threatening. Abortion pills are far less effective when the pregnancy is growing outside the uterus, and women may not know they are in danger during the abortion. As we saw in Amber’s case, without timely access to proper medical oversight during an abortion, severe complications such as sepsis can quickly escalate. Medical professionals must remain central to the abortion pill process, particularly when it comes to monitoring for retained fetal tissue.
Those selling abortions continue to profit from women such as Amber yet are rarely available to respond to medical complications during or after the abortion. Instead, women are increasingly going to emergency departments with complications during and after their abortions, especially with symptoms of bleeding and infection.
Abortion restrictions, such as those in Georgia, do not prevent doctors from providing lifesaving care when necessary. No law — whether in Georgia or elsewhere — prevents doctors from performing a dilation and curettage to save a woman’s life in cases of septic abortion or miscarriage.
The tragic delay in Amber’s treatment was not because of legal restrictions but rather an abortion process that required her to deliver twins on her own without medical support and then manage her own follow-up care.
Advocates of abortion often argue that restricting access to abortion puts women’s lives in danger. The reality is that unrestricted access to abortion pills without proper oversight is what leads to preventable tragedies like this one.
Incomplete abortions, retained fetal tissue and the failure to follow up with medical care are not rare complications; they are documented risks that can have deadly consequences. It’s vital that we address these risks head-on rather than promote policies that remove critical safeguards for women’s health.
While Amber Nicole Thurman’s death is used by some to further the abortion agenda, it’s important to recognize that seeking more abortion access in response to such stories does little to educate women about the real and documented harms of abortion pills. Instead, it stokes division on a matter where lives are at stake — both the lives of mothers and their unborn children.
The reality is that abortion, regardless of the circumstances, always results in death. In Amber’s case, abortion claimed three lives — her own and those of her unborn twins.
Abortion is not the “safe and easy” solution that it’s often portrayed to be, and Amber’s death proves it. Women deserve to know the truth about the risks of abortion pills, from incomplete abortions to the serious complications that arise when medical oversight is removed.
Exploiting tragic stories like Amber’s to advocate expanding abortion access without addressing these life-threatening risks is not only misleading, it sidelines the essential conversation about real women’s health care. Women deserve comprehensive information about their options, including the dangers associated with abortion pills, so they can make informed decisions.
Advocacy should focus on reducing harm, not increasing access to practices that put more lives in jeopardy.
As we grieve the loss of Amber and her children, let’s not allow her story to become another tool to push an agenda that ultimately causes more harm. Instead, we should work to protect both women and children by ensuring that all women have access to life-affirming care and that no woman or child needlessly loses their life to abortion.
Amber’s death was a tragedy that could have been avoided if the abortion provider had afforded her medical oversight during and after her abortion. Had the REMS protocol remained intact, had an ultrasound been required and had her health and safety been a priority for those who provided her abortion pills, Amber would likely still be alive today.
We must demand better for women — life-affirming care that provides women with the support, safety and real health care they deserve, ensuring that every life is valued and nurtured.
• Andrea Trudden is vice president of communications at Heartbeat International.
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