ProPublica has taken a break from generating fake controversies about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in order to start generating fake controversies about pro-life laws. Recently, the outlet highlighted Georgian women Candi Miller and Amber Nicole Thurman, who they claimed died as a result of the state’s pro-life laws, despite there being no reason for such a conclusion. On Wednesday, MSNBC’s Joy Reid repeated the claims on The ReidOut.
Reid began the segment by introducing a trio of clips, “When the [chairman of the board of the Federalist Society] Leonard Leo Six on the Supreme Court decided to rip away constitutional freedoms from millions of women across this country, many warned of what would happen.”
The montage showed former Sen. Barbara Boxer, former North Carolina Senate candidate Cheri Beasley, and Rep. Barbara Lee warning women will die if abortion is restricted or banned.
On the other side of the clips, Reid claimed to be vindicated, “Republicans treated those warnings with the same seriousness with which they treat most women's issues. Which isn't much. Republican men from Trump down to governors to state legislatures assured us they were protecting life and that these Trump abortion bans would protect the mother's life if it was ever in danger.”
Reid first highlighted Miller’s story, “Miller, who had lupus, diabetes, and hypertension, was warned that having another baby could kill her. But she didn't have many options because she lived in Georgia. A state that implemented a 6-week abortion ban, passed by the Republican majority state legislature and signed by Brian Kemp.”
She recalled how, “Miller tried to manage her own abortion at home and wound up dying because she was more afraid of seeking help than of what would happen if she didn't. Her son told the coroner that she was terrified of going to a doctor due to the current legislation on pregnancies and abortions.”
In the case of Thurman, “She was just getting on her feet, heading to nursing school, when she found out she was pregnant with twins. Because Georgia had just passed its 6-week ban and she was nine weeks pregnant, she decided to drive to North Carolina for a surgical abortion, but missed her appointment. She opted for a self-managed abortion instead.”
Reid continued, “A few days after taking her last pill, she vomited blood and passed out. She was rushed to the hospital, where she was clearly developing sepsis. Doctors left her for 17 hours without the urgent procedure she needed: a D&C. The medical staff watched as her blood pressure dropped. Her organs failed and she was finally wheeled into surgery where they performed that D&C but it was too late. Her heart stopped... Like Candi Miller, Amber Nicole Thurman's case was reviewed and deemed preventable.”
ProPublica claimed a D&C would have been a felony, but Mediaite’s Isaac Schorr pointed out that not only is that wrong, but even ProPublica undermined its own story, “It’s not until you’re close to sixty paragraphs in that the outlet admits to this absolutely critical fact: ‘It is not clear from the records available why doctors waited to provide a D&C to Thurman, though the summary report shows they discussed the procedure at least twice in the hours before they finally did.’”
As for Miller’s case, Schorr again highlights the problem, “Like Thurman, Miller used abortion pills to seek to terminate her pregnancy. And like Thurman, the pills did not work as intended, failing to expel all of the dead fetus.”
At that point the fetus was already dead, so removing it would not constitute an abortion, “ProPublica again erroneously states that Georgia had made a felony out of the dilation and curettage procedure, but Miller was legally entitled to seek such treatment.”
As it turns out, conservatives were right and Reid, Boxer, Beasley, and Lee were wrong.
Here is a transcript for the September 18 show:
MSNBC The ReidOut
9/18/2024
7:47 PM ET
JOY REID: When the Leonard Leo Six on the Supreme Court decided to rip away constitutional freedoms from millions of women across this country, many warned of what would happen.
BARBARA BOXER [9/2/2021]: Women will die if they can't afford to leave that state and that vigilante state and it's just breaking my heart.
CHERI BEASLEY [9/22/2022]: Women, who have ectopic pregnancies, who have septic uteruses who can't pass their miscarriages won't be able to get the treatment that they need. And it also means that women will die.
BARBARA LEE [10/1/2021]: I'm trying to send a warning that we do not want to go back to the days of back alley abortions because it's deadly. Women will die.
REID: Republicans treated those warnings with the same seriousness with which they treat most women's issues. Which isn't much. Republican men from Trump down to governors to state legislatures assured us they were protecting life and that these Trump abortion bans would protect the mother's life if it was ever in danger.
But that's just another lie that they're telling you. ProPublica has been investigating how abortion bans across the country are affecting women. And guess what, it's killing them. Candi Miller was a 41-year-old mother of three, who unintentionally got pregnant back in 2022. Miller, who had lupus, diabetes, and hypertension, was warned that having another baby could kill her. But she didn't have many options because she lived in Georgia. A state that implemented a 6-week abortion ban, passed by the Republican majority state legislature and signed by Brian Kemp.
So, Miller tried to manage her own abortion at home and wound up dying because she was more afraid of seeking help than of what would happen if she didn't. Her son told the coroner that she was terrified of going to a doctor due to the current legislation on pregnancies and abortions. He then told ProPublica that if you get caught trying to do anything to get rid of the baby, you get jail time for that. Miller's sister said she was trying to terminate the pregnancy, not terminate herself. Georgia doctors who reviewed her case found that her death was preventable and that she should still be alive. But she's not the only woman ProPublica found in Georgia who died a needless death because she feared her state's laws.
Amber Nicole Thurman was a healthy, 28-year-old mom of a 6-year-old son. She was just getting on her feet, heading to nursing school, when she found out she was pregnant with twins. Because Georgia had just passed its 6-week ban and she was nine weeks pregnant, she decided to drive to North Carolina for a surgical abortion, but missed her appointment. She opted for a self-managed abortion instead.
A few days after taking her last pill, she vomited blood and passed out. She was rushed to the hospital where she was clearly developing sepsis. Doctors left her for 17 hours without the urgent procedure she needed: a D&C. The medical staff watched as her blood pressure dropped. Her organs failed and she was finally wheeled into surgery where they performed that D&C but it was too late. Her heart stopped. According to ProPublica, the last words she uttered to her mom before she died was “promise me you'll take care of my son.” Like Candi Miller, Amber Nicole Thurman's case was reviewed and deemed preventable.
