Georgia's top health official dismissed all members of a state committee that investigates pregnancy-related maternal deaths after a committee member presumably released information about two such deaths.
In a letter first reported by ProPublica and dated Nov. 8, state public health commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey said whoever shared the information violated state law and a confidential agreement signed by committee members. An agency investigation wasn't able to identify who disclosed the details.
ProPublica reported in September that internal reports showed the Georgia Maternal Mortality Review Committee determined the deaths of two women were preventable, but found that doctors were hesitant to perform a procedure that could have saved their lives because of the state's strict abortion policies.
The cases drew national attention and became a central theme in Vice President Kamala Harris ' presidential campaign. Harris has been outspoken on abortion rights ever since the Supreme Court’s decision more than two years ago that overturned Roe v. Wade.
The Georgia committee works to identify what caused women to die during pregnancy or soon after childbirth, seeking to prevent other deaths or health crises.
The decision to disband the committee seems “very abrupt,” said Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, one of the groups that sued Georgia over the state's abortion ban beyond six weeks of pregnancy. A judge initially struck down the ban, but Georgia's Supreme Court halted the ruling in October, restoring the law.
"To have any time where we don’t have this committee in place difficult to fathom, realizing that we may lose access to really important data and information that could help us make better decisions and organize better around what we need for the state," Simpson said.
Toomey wrote that reconstituting the committee “will not result in a delay” of the committee's responsibilities.
The Georgia Department of Public Health will open applications for new members in the “coming weeks,” Toomey said in the letter, but will work to make sure there is more oversight and confidentiality in its review of cases.
"This is a scare tactic meant to stop full investigations into the circumstances of pregnant women’s deaths across the state," Alicia Stallworth, Director of Georgia Campaigns at Reproductive Freedom for All, said in a statement. "Now more than ever, it’s important to mobilize against anti-abortion extremists like Governor Kemp, who are responsible for these deadly bans.”
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp doesn't appoint or release members of the committee because it's overseen by the Department of Public Health, Kemp spokesperson Garrison Douglas said. Kemp signed into law in 2019 a ban on abortions once the fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks.
A spokesperson for the health department declined to provide additional comment and said the letter “speaks for itself.”