Georgia’s Maternal Mortality Rate Climbs As Kemp Disbands Maternal Mortality Commission

Last week, Governor Brian Kemp came under heavy fire for disbanding the Georgia Maternal Mortality Review Committee, which determined this fall that two Georgia women – Amber Thurman and Candi Miller – died as a direct result of Georgia’s six-week abortion signed by Kemp in 2019 and put into effect with the Dobbs decision in 2022.

This week, a new report found that Georgia’s maternal mortality rate – already among the highest in the nation – has increased during Governor Kemp’s tenure, with the overwhelming majority of the deaths being preventable. 

In response to the news that Kemp had disbanded the Maternal Mortality Review Committee, DPG Chair Congresswoman Nikema Williams said:

“Rather than acknowledge the deadly consequences of his extremism, Governor Kemp is trying to cover up the grave danger his abortion ban poses for Georgia women. Disbanding the mechanism for reporting maternal deaths is not going to bring back the women Gov. Kemp’s abortion ban has killed. It is a gross injustice that Georgia women’s health and wellbeing will suffer because the governor refuses to take accountability for his dangerous policies.”