Hi Reader,

When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion in 2022, strict bans on the procedure kicked in across the country. Women, in at least 22 states, had fewer options to end pregnancies that in some cases endangered their lives.

Doctors warned state legislators that women would die if particular medical procedures became illegal. Medical experts cautioned that the exceptions written into state abortion bans to protect the “life of the mother” were inadequate, not rooted in science and ignored the fast-moving realities of medicine. Women publicly shared their harrowing experiences with delayed or denied care. Yet despite these consistent warnings, Republican lawmakers who voted for the bans have refused to listen.

Over the past two years, ProPublica has been doggedly tracking the consequences of those bans. We found that women in serious danger have been forced to continue high-risk pregnancies that threatened their lives and been turned away from emergency rooms. We’ve written about hospital abortion committees that have to make high-stakes decisions for patients with health risks. In interviews with more than three dozen OB-GYNs in states that outlawed abortion, we learned how difficult it is to interpret the vague and conflicting language in bans’ medical exceptions — especially, the doctors said, when their judgment could be called into question under the threat of prison time. 

And, as of this week, ProPublica has uncovered at least two cases of women in Georgia who died after their state banned abortion. 

Amber Thurman’s case marks the first time an abortion ban-related death, officially deemed “preventable,” has come to public light. Candi Miller’s is the second. Both of these cases happened in 2022 and are just coming to public attention now. There are almost certainly others. 

Our “Post-Roe America” series illustrates the tremendous upheaval of restricted abortion access across the nation, and through “Life of the Mother,” ProPublica is drawing urgent and critical attention to how abortion bans can lead to preventable deaths. 

Thurman and Miller both needed a procedure that in many states is routine for abortions and miscarriages. In Georgia, and in many states across America, performing it was made a felony, with few exceptions. Neither woman received the care she needed.

ProPublica’s new reporting makes clear, for the first time, that in the wake of bans, women are losing their lives in ways that experts have deemed preventable.

When our elected officials pass laws that have grave and drastic effects on medical care and the health of individuals, investigative journalism is there to report on the consequences, no matter how long it takes for them to come to light. 

Thanks to our supporters, our journalists have the freedom and resources to dig up these facts and report them to the public. 

Right now, over 55,000 members are supporting ProPublica. I’m asking you to join them and make a donation of any amount today. Help us continue to follow these important stories at this critical time. 

Thanks so much, 

Jill Shepherd

Proud ProPublican