VP debate: Death of Georgia's Amber Thurman brought up during abortion discussion

STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. - As the race for the White House heads into its final stretch, vice presidential candidates Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance made their pitches to voters on the debate stage.

Georgia, a crucial swing state for both candidates, took center stage on Tuesday night as candidates discussed the future of abortion in the United States.

Walz pounced on Vance repeatedly over abortion access and reproductive rights as the Ohio senator tried to argue that a state-by-state matrix of abortion laws is the ideal approach for the United States. Walz countered that a "basic right" for a woman should not be determined "by geography."

"This is a very simple proposition: These are women’s decisions," Walz said. "We trust women. We trust doctors."

Walz, Vance vice presidential debate in New York: Moment-by-moment recap

The Minnesota governor personalized his argument by bringing up the death of Stockbridge resident Amber Thurman, who died while trying to seek an abortion under Georgia's recent law that banned the procedure after about six weeks.

"How can we as a nation say that your life and your rights - as basic as the right to control your own body - should be determined by geography," Walz said.

MORE: Georgia Republicans rally to defend 'heartbeat bill' after court blocks abortion ban

Rather than sidestep the reference, Vance at one point agreed with Walz that "Amber Thurman should still be alive," but argued that the government should let voters decide on abortion restrictions.

Vance steered the conversation to the GOP ticket’s proposals, which he said would help women and children economically, thus avoiding the need for terminating pregnancies. But Walz retorted that such policies — tax credits, expanded childcare aid, a more even economy — can be pursued while still allowing women to make their own decisions about abortion.

Who was Amber Thurman?

ProPublica reports that in August 2022, Thurman visited Piedmont Henry Hospital after 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.  

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. 

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

Vice President Kamala Harris has been telling Thurman's story on the campaign trail, calling Thurman's death one of the "consequences of Donald Trump's actions."

In September, Thurman's mother told her daughter's story during a Harris campaign town hall in Michigan.

"Amber was not a statistic. She was loved by a family - a strong family," Shanette Williams said.

After the debate, the Thurman family released a statement commending Walz for telling the 28-year-old mother's story on television.

"The fight for justice for Amber is a fight for every woman's right to make decisions about her own body and access the medical care she needs," the statement read in part. "We will not stop until these dangerous laws are repealed, and no more lives are lost. Until then, we must keep saying her name: Amber Thurman!"

Georgia's abortion laws in limbo

Georgia’s law was passed by state lawmakers and signed by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2019 but has been challenged in court since passing. After Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, the law effectively prohibited abortions beyond six weeks of pregnancy, which is before women often know they’re pregnant. That’s when cardiac activity in an embryo’s cells can be detected by ultrasound. The law banned abortions once a "detectable human heartbeat" was present — with some exceptions.

Before the law kicked in, there were more than 4,400 abortions each month in Georgia. That has dropped a monthly average of about 2,400 since the ban began in 2022 according to data from the Society of Family Planning.

This week, a Fulton County judge blocked the law, arguing that it violates women’s rights to liberty and privacy guaranteed by the state constitution.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled that the law infringed on the liberty "of a woman to control her own body, to decide what happens to it and in it, and to reject state interference with her healthcare choices." He also wrote that Georgia gives women a constitutional right to privacy that includes making personal health decisions.

The judge wrote that his ruling reverts Georgia’s abortion law to its prior status, which allowed abortions until viability, which is generally considered to be about 22 to 24 weeks gestational age.

McBurney had previously declared the law invalid in 2022 prior to the Supreme Court's ruling on Roe v. Wade.

Republican state Attorney General Chris Carr plans to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court, which has overturned McBurney's decision on the issue before.

As legal battles continue, Georgia clinics are preparing to resume providing abortions for up to 22 weeks. Experts suggest the ruling could temporarily ease the burden on neighboring states like North Carolina, where many Georgia residents had been traveling for abortion care under the six-week ban. The outcome of the appeal could have wide-reaching implications, both in Georgia and across the Southern states, where abortion bans remain prevalent.