VP Kamala Harris talks about reproductive rights in metro Atlanta

ATLANTA - Vice President Kamala Harris returned to Atlanta on Friday to discuss women’s health and reproductive rights. 

During a rally, she criticized former President Donald Trump, as he has publicly taken credit for overturning Roe v. Wade. 

A spokesperson for Harris tells FOX 5 that the decision has led to a series of abortion bans being put into place which has had devastating consequences for women. 

Who is Amber Thurman?

The Democratic presidential candidate’s visit comes days after a ProPublica report on the death of 28-year-old Amber Thurman, who had visited Piedmont Henry Hospital in August 2022 experiencing a rare complication from an abortion pill. 

The report reveals that what should have been a routine procedure was delayed due to concerns that it violated the 2019 Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act, also known colloquially as the Georgia heartbeat bill.  

Georgia’s law bans most abortions once a "detectable human heartbeat" is present, which can be as early as six weeks. The law includes exceptions for rape and incest, as long as a police report is filed, and allows for later abortions when the mother’s life is at risk or a serious medical condition renders a fetus unviable. 

In Thurman’s case, ProPublica reports a procedure was not performed until 20 hours after she was admitted, which at that time was too late. Thurman had developed a severe infection and was already in organ failure. 

SEE ALSO: Harris condemns Georgia abortion law after report links it to preventable death

ProPublica, which is a nonprofit investigative journalism organization based in New York City, also reported on a second Georgia woman who died after the state's abortion ban took effect. 

Kamala Harris on Georgia heartbeat abortion ban

In response to the ProPublica report, Vice President Harris released a statement earlier this week: 

"This is exactly what we feared when Roe was struck down. In more than 20 states, Trump Abortion Bans are preventing doctors from providing basic medical care," Harris said in a statement. "Women are bleeding out in parking lots, turned away from emergency rooms, losing their ability to ever have children again. Survivors of rape and incest are being told they cannot make decisions about what happens next to their bodies. And now women are dying. These are the consequences of Donald Trump’s actions." 

READ ALSO: JD Vance in Georgia: ‘The left needs to tone down the rhetoric’

On Monday night, Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance defended the Supreme Court decision. Speaking at the Georgia Faith and Freedom Coalition's annual dinner, he heralded the GOP’s stance on abortion rights. 

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who spoke before Vance at the same rally, signed the so-called heartbeat bill into law in 2019. He released a statement: 

"It is self-evident that dangerous misinformation places patients’ lives at risk, which is why getting the facts right is vitally important. Georgia’s LIFE Act not only expanded support for expectant mothers but also established clear exceptions, including providing necessary care in the event of a medical emergency. In Georgia, we will always fight for and protect the lives of the most vulnerable among us." 

So far, Trump has not addressed the ProPublica reports and gave no answer during the ABC News presidential debate to the question of if he would sign a national abortion ban into law if he were reelected. 

The ACLU of Georgia and other organizations have filed a lawsuit challenging Georgia's abortion ban. 

"It's a tragedy. It is something that reflects the irresponsible nature of Georgia's irresponsible six-week ban," Andrea Young, who serves as executive director of ACLU of Georgia, told FOX 5's Deidra Dukes. "This was political, and I think the very real threat to women's health was simply not a priority for the legislature or the governor." 

Gwen Walz echos Harris on fertility treatments

Harris also expected to speak about fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization, something her running mate’s wife, Gwen Walz, addressed during a rally on Thursday in Augusta. 

"They are criminalizing women’s reproductive health care nationwide. They are making it harder to get birth control, than to buy a gun," Gwen told supporters. "They are even putting fertility treatments at risk." 

Walz said this is a personal issue. She shared her story about using intrauterine insemination, a procedure usually performed just prior to the use of IVF.  

"If it would have been up to them, I wouldn’t have been able to have children," she said. "And if it were up to Mr. Vance, I would have been a second-class citizen, in his view." 

It will not be known until after Election Day how much of a role reproductive rights and freedoms played in the voters' decision.