Can We debate Women’s Bodies like Defense Spending?

On Amber Thurman and her Right to Life

It seems not enough to say that Amber Thurman, who died August 19, 2022, from the complications of a routine medical protocol, should still be here or to impress upon those just learning of her death that she was a devoted mother and daughter who had big dreams for her life. Although true, they misrepresent the truth of what happened to her:  She was killed by the state of Georgia and its abortion ban.

Amber’s death was not a mistake, nor was it an accident. It was a direct consequence of the state of Georgia’s six-week abortion ban enacted on July 20, 2022. If it had not been in effect, Amber would be alive. To say anything different or to blame the mifepristone protocol is the equivalent of offering ‘thoughts and prayers” after a mass shooting, framing them as a fact of life.  

What happened to Amber?

Amber wanted to end her pregnancy. Full stop. No further explanation or context is needed.

After experiencing complications from a safe and prescribed medical therapy to terminate her pregnancy, Amber checked into a hospital in Georgia for treatment and never left.  She died of sepsis, a condition that could have quickly and safely been treated with emergency surgery.

Rather than treat her immediately, Amber languished in pain as doctors and helpers wrung their hands, afraid to fulfill their duties and obligations to treat Amber for fear of prosecution under the Georgia abortion ban Law. After twenty hours of consternation, it was too late when they finally decided to perform the surgery. She was dead.

Georgia’s abortion ban, and the 21 others in states across the country, are inhumane, cruel, draconian, horrific, terrifying, and, most importantly, a violation of Amber’s humanity, dignity, and right to life.

Playing Politics with Women’s Bodies and Rights

There are no laws that regulate what men can do to their bodies in the U.S. and perhaps globally. Male bodies, specifically white male bodies, have never been the subject of debate, control, or regulation.

However, for the last 60 years, we have debated and legislated women’s bodies in ways similar to defense spending, the national budget, taxes, and healthcare. And this is the problem.

If Amber had arrived at the hospital with a gunshot or stab wound, drug overdose, or an allergic reaction, she would have been treated. But because states have criminalized abortion care, and by extension, the women who seek or want to have them, when Amber needed help, her doctors and helpers backed away, refusing care.

In Amber’s case and the cases of Candi Miller and Ashley, women and girls are treated as casualties of political and ideological warfare by Conservatives—as literal bodies to be won or lost. Notably, women with the least amount of power in society---women of color, younger women, and lower-income women--have been disproportionately impacted by abortion bans and trigger laws in states.

Challenging Abortion Bans in the States

State-level abortion bans have caused chaos, direct harm to women and families, and instilled fear in healthcare providers and helpers. They are also killing women.

Groups like the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, Sister Song, the National Women’s Law Center, and others are challenging abortion bans in the states. This is the right thing to do. However, without federal legislation or the right to an abortion enshrined in state constitutions, overturning bans is a long shot.

So, What’s next?

We have to fight back. The upcoming election's outcome will be critically important for women’s health, freedom, bodily integrity, and autonomy. It will also determine whether or not we continue on our current downward trajectory or restore what was lost and put in place what should be.

We can also support state and federal legislation such as the Abortion Now Act and other measures that seek to protect and expand women’s reproductive health and rights.

No one asked for this war, but we must figure out how to fight it and win.

Here’s What I’m Reading on the Topic of Reproductive Health and Rights

Undue Burden: Life and Death Decisions in Post-Roe America by Shefali Luthra (Doubleday)

In Undue Burden, reporter Shefali Luthra traces the unforgettable stories of patients who faced one of the most personal decisions of their lives. It provides a revelatory portrait of inequality in America. It examines abortion not as a footnote or a political pawn but as a basic human right, something worthy of our collective attention.

The Fall of Roe: The Rise of a New America by Elizabeth Dias (Author), Lisa Lerer (Flatiron Books)

In The Fall of Roe, Elizabeth Dias, and Lisa Lerer reveal the explosive inside story of how it happened. Their investigation charts the shocking political and religious campaign to take down abortion rights and remake American families, womanhood, and the nation itself. In doing so, they go beyond the traditional political narrative into the most personal reaches of American life.

Forthcoming

Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win by Jessica Valenti (Crown)

Release date: October 1, 2024

In Abortion, New York Times bestselling author Jessica Valenti shines a light on the conservative assault on women’s freedom, cutting through the misinformation and overwhelm to inform, engage, and enrage. The book gives voice to women’s frustration and outrage in a moment when they’re fed up with being talked over and diminished.

One of my personal Favorites (an oldie but a goodie)

Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty by Dorothy Roberts (Random House)

Killing the Black Body is a no-holds-barred response to the liberal and conservative retreat from an assertive, activist, and socially transformative civil rights agenda of recent years - using a Black feminist lens and the issue of the impact of recent legislation, social policy, and welfare "reform" on Black women's - especially poor Black women's - control over their bodies' autonomy and their freedom to bear and raise children with respect and dignity in a society whose White mainstream is determined to demonize, even criminalize their lives.