ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – A day after a judge lifted Georgia’s six-week abortion ban, the family of a mother who died after reportedly receiving delayed abortion care in 2022 is speaking out.

Amber Thurman, 28, suffered a rare complication from her abortion medications and went to Piedmont Henry Hospital in Stockbridge for a procedure to remove tissue from the uterus. But doctors waited 20 hours before performing the dilation and curettage, which would have led to her death, according to Ben Crump, the family’s attorney.

Crump said the family plans to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

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The lawsuit comes as a Fulton County Superior Court judge on Monday struck down Georgia’s LIFE Act, which bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. In most cases this is about six weeks.

“It’s bittersweet for this family,” Crump said during a news conference Tuesday. “While it is likely that other women in the state of Georgia will be in danger like Amber in the near future, the intention was not to save Amber’s life.”

Thurman died two weeks after the LIFE Act became law. Attorney Michael Harper said there are two exceptions: if there is a medical emergency and if the fetus is not viable. Thurman’s situation met both conditions, he argued during the press conference.

“Under the Georgia Heartbeat law, her life should still have been saved,” he said.

Thurman’s mother, Shanette Williams, claimed the hospital kept the family in the dark about what happened.

“I want to understand this. I want to know why. Because as a mother this is the hardest thing,” she said. “If we had known, we would have done everything. But we didn’t do that.”

Cjauna Williams, one of Thurman’s sisters, FaceTimed Thurman just before she was brought in for the procedure. She said Thurman’s face was blue.

“She looked deep into my soul. And to this day, that face, that look, haunts me every day,” she said. “Did she really have to be the sacrifice?”

Abortion – and the swing state of Georgia – are crucial to the 2024 presidential election. After ProPublica published Thurman’s report, the news spread across social media, putting Georgia back on the national stage.

Kamala Harris spoke directly about Thurman during a speech in Georgia on September 20.

“She was loved,” Harris said. “And she should be alive today.”

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