Women This Week: Women’s Deaths Cited as ‘Preventable’ in Georgia

Abortion Restrictions Stopping Women from Accessing Emergency Care 

A recent report by ProPublica—a nonprofit investigative journalism organization—reveals that at least two women have died due to strict legal restrictions placed on abortion in Georgia following the 2022 Dobbs decision. In the case of Amber Thurman, a twenty-eight-year-old nurse and mother, ProPublica found that the hospital delayed a routine procedure to remove fetal tissue that remained after she took an abortion pill. Amber was denied treatment for nearly twenty hours and ultimately died in surgery. In the second case, Candi Miller faced complications after taking an abortion pill but decided to manage the pain on her own because she was fearful of Georgia’s strict abortion laws. She died at home after suffering in pain for days. ProPublica gained access to records from a state committee of experts in Georgia who are tasked with reviewing pregnancy-related deaths. “The fact that she felt that she had to make these decisions, that she didn’t have adequate choices here in Georgia, we felt that definitely influenced her case,” said one committee member to ProPublica. “She’s absolutely responding to this legislation.” The group of experts anticipates that there are other stories like these, as they have only investigated cases through the fall of 2022.  

Countries Off Track to Meet 2030 Gender Equality Goals

UN Women’s updated Gender Snapshot 2024 Report emphasizes the need to continue investing in gender equality to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) deadline. The report, which tracks progress on gender-related SDGs, shows that not one indicator under Goal 5 for gender equality has been fully met. The trends show over ten trillion dollars of global economic losses resulting from inadequate schooling for young women. Child marriage may continue until 2092, and it may be 137 years until women and girls can rise out of poverty if current trends continue. While women hold one in four parliamentary seats—a notable increase from the last decade—it will likely not be until 2063 that full gender parity is reached in parliaments. The report included recommendations for policymakers. The head of UN Women’s research and data section, Papa Seck, said: “The cost of not achieving gender equality is just way too high but at the same time, the potential returns of doing so are also too high to ignore for societies.”  

Von der Leyen Announces New Leadership Team; Women to Play Key Roles  

European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen has announced her new leadership team, with many key appointments being filled by women.  After encouraging member states to put forward strong female candidates, Von der Leyen proposed women for four of six executive vice president positions. These include Kaja Kallas of Estonia as foreign policy chief; Teresa Ribera of Spain as antitrust chief; Henna Virkkunen of Finland for tech security, security, and democracy; and Roxana Minzatu of Romania for people, skills, and preparedness. The gender balance for the incoming candidates is now 40 percent, a jump from its previous proportion of 22 percent. “...I worked with the member states and we were able to improve the balance to 40% women and 60% men. And it shows that — as much as we have achieved — there is still so much more work to do,” von der Leyen said. The appointments still require formal endorsement from the European parliament.