Vice President Kamala Harris will speak on the issue of abortion rights in Georgia, a state currently grappling with the tragic deaths of two women due to complications from taking abortion pills, even though experts have declared the pills “safe.”

Amber Thurman died after waiting 20 hours for medical treatment after taking abortion pills. This is the first publicly known case of a woman dying due to delays in treatment related to state abortion restrictions. Candi Miller, who suffered from lupus, diabetes and high blood pressure, also died after taking pills ordered online.

An autopsy showed that the fetal tissue had not been expelled, but the state Maternal Mortality Review Commission did not attribute her death to the drugs.

Experts stress that the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol remain safe and effective options for terminating early pregnancies. Mifepristone was approved by the FDA in 2000 and has shown a high 97.4% success rate in achieving an abortion. Although there are rare cases of heavy bleeding that may require emergency care, the FDA has repeatedly confirmed the drug’s safety profile.

Over the years, the agency has relaxed numerous restrictions on mifepristone, culminating in a 2021 decision allowing the drug to be shipped directly to patients by mail.

The deaths of Thurman and Miller come at a time when access to abortion is a contentious issue across the country. Critics of current regulations argue that the FDA’s loosening of restrictions has led to an increase in complications during emergency procedures. But medical experts counter that only a tiny fraction of patients – less than 0.32% – experience serious side effects.

Dr. Ushma Upadhyay, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, points out that many emergency room visits after medication abortions do not necessarily indicate serious complications. Rather, patients are often looking for reassurance or answers to their questions rather than needing immediate medical attention.

Harris’ upcoming speech underscores the urgent need for an informed discussion about reproductive health in a state struggling with strict abortion laws and the tragic consequences they can bring. Proponents of mifepristone emphasize that its safety profile is comparable to that of many common medications such as ibuprofen, and argue that safety is critical to ensuring continued access to these health resources.

The situation in Georgia not only highlights individual tragedies, but also highlights the broader national discourse about access to abortion and the impact of restrictive laws on women’s health.

As Harris prepares her speech, much is at stake for women across the country.

This article contains reports from The Associated Press