I live in Georgia, where the news broke this week that Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller , two young Black mothers, died as a clear result of our state’s abortion ban. Both of them required a routine medical procedure called dilation and curettage. This procedure is life-saving for those in need of emergency abortion care, but is virtually inaccessible due Georgia’s medically unnecessary abortion ban.
Instead, Thurman languished for 20 hours in an Atlanta hospital, her organs failing, before ultimately dying. Miller didn’t even try coming to the hospital, because she believed that Georgia’s ban would prevent doctors from treating her. The day after the news about Thurman’s avoidable death came out, the Senate once again struck down the Right to IVF Act , which would have safeguarded access to fertility care for all people. The combination of these women’s tragic stories and the repeated loss of fertility care protections in the same week is almost too much to bear.
Thurman and Miller’s deaths are the first “preventable” fatalities due to lack of abortion care post- Dobbs that have been uncovered, but there are undoubtedly many, many more. As one of the first women in America to be ordained as an Orthodox rabbi, I firmly believe that every family has the right to start their family if, when, and how they choose. My advocacy for reproductive freedom is firmly rooted in my rabbinate, and my identity as a proud observant Jew.
Related
- opinion Jewish law has always been clear: Emergency abortions are an essential right
We are currently in the month of Elul, the last month of the Jewish year leading up to Rosh Hashanah, and a month known for reflection and repentance. I keep thinking about what else we could have done to prevent the deaths of these women, and there is no better time than Elul to reflect and set ourselves up for a better future of reproductive justice…