Where Policy Meets Practice: Reproductive Health in a Post Roe America

EVELYN LYNCH – On August Nineteenth, 2022, Amber Nicole Thurman went into septic shock and died. It was completely preventable.

 Thurman, a twenty-eight-year-old single mom from the suburbs of Atlanta, had her sights set on going to nursing school when she fell pregnant in the Summer of 2022. Even with the overturning of Roe v. Wade that same year, which saw abortions banned in Georgia for pregnancies over 6 weeks through the heartbeat bill, she made the difficult decision to terminate her pregnancy.

 After initiating a pill abortion through mifepristone and misoprostol, however, she experienced a complication: she had not expelled all of the fetal tissue. Typically, this would be remedied with a routine procedure referred to as a “D&C” (Dilation and Curettage) that removes tissue from the uterus. 

With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, however, this procedure was effectively made illegal. And any doctor who performed it could face up to ten years in prison. While provisions exist that provide exceptions for the “life of the mother”, vague legislative wording has left many physicians unsure of where the line is and if they are risking their license and their patients’ lives. In the case of Amber Thurman, the physicians at the suburban Atlanta hospital knew exactly what steps should be taken to save Amber’s life: but unclear legislation interfered with their ability to perform their duty. Doctors watched as Amber’s organs began to fail and knowingly failed to act – resulting in the death of an otherwise healthy 28-year-old and leaving a son without a mother. 

Amber is not the only woman who has suffered an abortion-related death after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. As advisory boards examine cases of maternal mortality, more stories are surfacing of women being denied life-saving healthcare because the physicians responsible for their care hesitate to perform necessary procedures out of fear of imprisonment.  

This sets a dangerous precedent for the relationship between policy and practice. Legislation is often written by politicians with no medical expertise, and its ramifications are being felt in healthcare. When healthcare legislation is drafted without the proper medical consultation and utilizes vague language, it becomes difficult to interpret, resulting in untimely deaths like Amber’s. 

The United States is already in dire need of physicians, with an estimated gap of up to 86,000 by 2036. This shortage is especially dire in primary care, which includes women’s health. In Idaho, where abortion is banned from fertilization – 1 in 4 gynecologists have left the state or retired since the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Additionally, three hospitals have closed their labor and delivery units. 

If the medical community is to deliver safe, reliable care, it is crucial that healthcare legislation is clear, specific, and rooted in accurate medical knowledge. As more stories like Amber’s come to light, we can clearly see how the consequences of poorly drafted laws can be fatal, creating fear and confusion among healthcare providers and risking the lives of patients in need. 

Copy Editor – Jason Lu

Photography Source – https://www.propublica.org/article/georgia-abortion-ban-amber-thurman-death