Georgia officials have disbanded a state committee that was responsible for investigating the deaths of pregnant women after internal reports detailing the preventable deaths of two women were leaked to the public.
"Confidential information provided to the Maternal Mortality Review Committee was inappropriately shared with outside individuals," Dr. Kathleen Toomey, commissioner of the state Department of Public Health, wrote in a letter addressed to members of the committee, obtained by ProPublica. "Even though this disclosure was investigated, the investigation was unable to uncover which individual(s) disclosed confidential information.
"Therefore, effective immediately the current MMRC is disbanded, and all member seats will be filled through a new application process," she continued.
The deaths of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller were previously reported by ProPublica in September, revealing internal reports in which the state maternal mortality review committee deemed that their deaths were preventable. The reports determined that the two women died as a result of a state abortion ban that prohibited their access to care.
Maternal mortality review committees, which are present in every state, are tasked with investigating the deaths of pregnant women during pregnancy or up to a year following pregnancy in order to determine whether or not the death was preventable.
Georgia state law mandates that the work of the state maternal mortality review committee remain confidential, hence requiring members to sign confidentiality agreements. The letter addressed to the committee by the Health Department also addresses potential new measures that can be taken to protect board information and decisions from being accessed by the public.
Officials could alter "other procedures for on-boarding committee members better-ensuring confidentiality, committee oversight and MMRC organizational structure," according to the letter obtained by ProPublica.
The letter also stated that "change to the current committee will not result in a delay in the MMRC's responsibilities."
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