Governor Brian Kemp Under Fire for Disbanding State Maternal Mortality Review Board

Georgia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country.

Governor Brian Kemp is under heavy fire today with multiple news outlets reporting that he disbanded the Georgia Maternal Mortality Review Committee. This fall, the committee determined 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.

“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,” said DPG Chair Congresswoman Nikema Williams. “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.”

The committee’s work is now on hold indefinitely as the state looks to replace all 32 committee members. While the Georgia Department of Public Health  claimed in a letter released Nov. 8 that this “will not result in a delay in the MMRC’s responsibilities,” precedent from other states that have disbanded their maternal mortality committees isn’t encouraging. Idaho let their committee lapse in July of 2023 and only reseated new committee members last Friday, November 15 — a gap of a year and a half.

Georgia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country. Advocates have also questioned whether new committee members will be able to work freely knowing the board is susceptible to political interference by Gov. Kemp or his administration.