8-10-2026 12:34pm

Georgia Health Department Ousts Entire Maternal Maternity Review Committee

S RENEE GREENE Editor

Credit to: PROPUBLICA _ Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller

The Georgia Department of Public Health dismissed all 32 members of its Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) in November 2024 after confidential case files were leaked to ProPublica, prompting a statewide controversy over transparency, reproductive health oversight, and the impact of abortion restrictions on maternal deaths.

Leak Sparks Statewide Upheaval

The dismissal followed an internal investigation into how ProPublica obtained internal MMRC reports on two Georgia women—Amber Thurman and Candi Miller—whose pregnancy‑related deaths the committee had determined were preventable.

The leaked reports showed:

Both women died after delays in care linked to physicians’ fear of violating Georgia’s strict abortion ban.

Their cases became national flashpoints in the debate over abortion access and maternal mortality.

State officials launched a probe into the breach, asserting that the disclosure violated Georgia confidentiality laws. Investigators, however, could not identify the source of the leak.

Abrupt Disbanding and Official Justification

In a letter dated November 8, 2024, State Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey informed members that the MMRC was being dissolved immediately because confidential information had been “inappropriately shared with outside individuals.”

Toomey emphasized that:

The committee’s statutory duties would not be delayed.
All seats would be refilled through a new application process.
Additional measures would be implemented to strengthen confidentiality and oversight.

Under Georgia law, MMRC members must sign strict confidentiality agreements, and their findings—even on preventable deaths—cannot be shared with families or hospitals.

Criticism From Advocates and Watchdogs

Reproductive‑rights organizations and health‑care watchdogs condemned the mass dismissal as a politically motivated attempt to suppress transparency.

Advocates argued:

The decision was “abrupt” and risked interrupting critical maternal‑mortality surveillance and the move appeared to be a “scare tactic” aimed at discouraging full investigations into pregnancy‑related deaths under Georgia’s abortion ban.

The controversy intensified public scrutiny of Georgia’s maternal mortality crisis and the state’s restrictive abortion policies, which have been reinstated and litigated repeatedly since 2022.

Committee Relaunch Under Tighter Controls

Following the dismissal, the Department of Public Health began onboarding a new iteration of the MMRC with enhanced confidentiality procedures.

Notably: The new member roster has not been publicly disclosed, a departure from past practice.

Officials signaled potential changes to the committee’s organizational structure to further limit public visibility into case deliberations.

Fountain City News stands with the women being harmed and damaged in advocating for the entire disbanding of the group and the reversal of all laws pertaining to women's abortion rights, and that those responsible for it be criminally investigated and charged with both women's murders and made to compensate their families and all other women in Georgia who have been harmed by these anti-woman laws.