Georgia’s top health official fired all members of a state commission investigating pregnancy-related maternal deaths after the leak, allegedly by a commission member, of information about two such deaths.
In a letter first reported by ProPublica and dated Nov. 8, state Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey, that whoever shared the information violated state law and a confidential agreement signed by committee members. An agency investigation failed to identify the leak.
ProPublica reported in September that internal reports showed that the Georgia Maternal Mortality Review Committee determined that the deaths of two women were preventable, but found that doctors were hesitant to perform a procedure that could have saved their lives because of the strict state rules. abortion policy.
ProPublica said the board members’ resignations were the result of obtaining the internal reports on the two deaths, which were of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller.
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The cases attracted national attention and became one central theme in Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. Harris has been outspoken on abortion rights since the Supreme Court ruling over two years ago overturning Roe v. Wade.
The Georgia committee investigates the causes of women’s deaths during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth, and works to prevent other deaths or health crises.
The decision to disband the commission seems “very abrupt,” said Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, one of the groups that sued Georgia over the state’s ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Initially, a judge overturned the ban, but the Georgia Supreme Court halted the ruling in October and reinstated the law.
“It’s hard to fathom having a moment when we don’t have this committee, realizing that we could lose access to really important data and information that could help us make better decisions and better organize ourselves around what we need for the state. Simpson said.
Toomey wrote that reconstituting the committee “will not result in a delay” of the committee’s responsibilities.
The Georgia Department of Public Health will open applications for new members in the coming weeks, Toomey said in the letter, but will ensure there is more oversight and confidentiality in case review.
“This is a scare tactic designed to halt a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of pregnant women across the state,” Alicia Stallworth, director of Georgia Campaigns at Reproductive Freedom for All, said in a statement. “Now more than ever, it is important to mobilize against anti-abortion extremists like Governor Kemp, who are responsible for these deadly bans.”
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp does not appoint or fire members of the commission because it is overseen by the Department of Health, Kemp spokesman Garrison Douglas said. Kemp signed a law in 2019 requiring abortions as soon as the fetus’s heartbeat is detected, which could be as early as six weeks.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health declined to comment further, saying the letter “speaks for itself.”
