ATLANTA — The mother of a woman who blamed Georgia’s abortion law for the death of her daughter is backing former state Sen. Jason Esteves in next year’s primary campaign for governor.
Shanette Williams said Thursday that she trusts the Atlanta Democrat to overturn the law that bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected.
“We need a champion for women in the governor’s office now more than ever, and it’s clear that Jason is the right person for the job,” Williams said in a statement released by the Esteves campaign.
The Republican-led law passed in 2019. It took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that the Constitution does not guarantee a right to abortion, reversing a decades-old precedent that said it did.
Pregnant women have subsequently been denied medical care in Georgia during miscarriages because of uncertainty among doctors about whether they could face prosecution for it.
Williams’ daughter, Amber Nicole Thurman, died after doctors delayed removing remnants of her fetus after she self-aborted with pills.
Williams said at a legislative hearing in June that her daughter died of sepsis, which she said could have been avoided with a 3-minute procedure that she said doctors withheld for 20 hours.
“She didn’t just die. She was murdered by the people who took the oath to do no harm,” Williams said at the hearing.
Democrats say the law is “vague” and creates an “air of criminality” around women who miscarry or need an abortion for a medical reason. Esteves said he would fight to overturn it if elected.
That is not an unusual position for a Democrat, but Esteves will be looking for any edge in what has become a free for all for governor.
Leading political figures in the Democratic primary include former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms; former DeKalb County CEO and state labor commissioner Michael Thurmond; and former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who recently switched from the Republican party.
Whoever emerges from the Democratic primary will face the winner of the Republican nomination, which includes Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Attorney General Chris Carr, and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.