Walz repeats Georgia abortion death falsehood decried by doctors as 'fearmongering'
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz claimed during the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate that a woman in Georgia likely died due to the state's "restrictive" abortion laws after Roe v. Wade was overturned despite doctors previously denouncing such a narrative as "fearmongering."
"There's a young woman named Amber Thurman. She happened to be in Georgia, a restrictive state. Because of that, she had to travel a long distance to North Carolina to try and get her care. Amber Thurmond died in that journey back and forth. The fact of the matter is, how can we as a nation say that your life and your rights, as basic as the right to control your own body, is determined on geography," Walz said during the debate while sparring with Vance on abortion laws.
"There's a very real chance that if Amber Thurman lived in Minnesota, she would be alive today. That's why the restoration of Roe v. Wade," he said.
Walz joined Ohio Sen. JD Vance in New York City Tuesday evening, where the pair squared off on key voter issues this election cycle, including the economy, immigration and abortion.
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Walz's remarks come after ProPublica published an article last month blaming the deaths of two Georgia women, Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller, on the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the state’s new abortion limits after the women received chemically induced abortions in 2022.
Georgia's heartbeat law states that "no abortion shall be performed if the unborn child has a detectable human heartbeat except in the event of a medical emergency or medically futile pregnancy."
Members of the Democratic Party, including Vice President Kamala Harris, have cited their deaths as evidence for the need to expand abortion access after the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
"Good policy, logical policy, moral policy, humane policy is about saying a health care provider will only start providing that care when you’re about to die?" Harris said during an Atlanta campaign event last month, while citing Thurman's death.
OB-GYNs have since criticized the narrative as a misleading story that is being pushed by the media and Democrats.
"I was not surprised to see this pro-abortion media try to point the blame at Georgia’s pro-life laws, but, in fact, Georgia’s laws allow doctors to intervene to save the life of the woman," Charlotte Lozier Institute Vice President and Director of Medical Affairs Dr. Ingrid Skop recently told Fox News Digital.
"I think the focus of the Democratic Party upon abortion as an issue is only because the American people do not understand the laws. Many times, women are hurt by abortions. It is not necessary for women to live their best life. And, of course, it’s the fearmongering and lies that have led us to this place where we are today, where people even think there would be a reason to point at the law."
U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., and state Rep. Mark Newton have also come out to say they don't believe Georgia laws had anything to do with Thurman's death, alleging it was caused by complications from abortion pills because doctors may have waited too long to intercede.
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"We never deny a woman an abortion because it's going to harm her in some way. She will always be protected," McCormick said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
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"You have every right to an abortion, even with that heartbeat law," he continued. "So, let's make that very clear right now. When they say there's no exceptions, there's never any law in any state where there's no exceptions. That doesn't exist. That's simply not the way it works. The mother's life is always protected. With that said, it doesn't mean it's easy to get an abortion just because you have a complication or because something goes wrong."
Fox News Digital's Lindsay Kornick and Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.