Two Georgia deaths are tied to abortion restrictions. Experts say abortion pills they took are safe

A patient prepares to take the first of two combination pills, mifepristone, for a medication abortion during a visit to a clinic in Kansas City, Kan., on, Oct. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to speak about abortion Friday in Georgia, where two women’s deaths have been tied to a state law that mostly bans the procedure after roughly six weeks.

Amber Thurman died after waiting 20 hours for a hospital to treat complications that occurred after she took abortion pills. Reported by ProPublica earlier this week, the case is the first publicly reported instance of a woman dying from delayed care.

The news organization also reported on the death of Candi Miller, a woman with lupus, diabetes and hypertension who took abortion pills she ordered online. An autopsy found fetal tissue that hadn’t been expelled and a lethal combination of painkillers, ProPublica reported. The state’s maternal mortality review committee did not believe abortion medication caused her death.