Press Release National
Press Release
Reproductive Freedom for All Freedom Responds to New Reporting from ProPublica on the Preventable Death of Ciji Graham
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Contact: [email protected]
Reproductive Freedom for All Freedom Responds to New Reporting from ProPublica on the Preventable Death of Ciji Graham
Washington, DC — Today, new reporting from ProPublica revealed the death of Ciji Graham, a 34-year-old mother in North Carolina who was denied timely, lifesaving abortion care because of state restrictions. ProPublica reports that North Carolina’s 12-week abortion ban and medically unnecessary in-person counseling and waiting period requirements forced Graham to wait nearly two weeks for care, even after she experienced serious medical complications while awaiting her appointment. She was denied care by the hospital and sent home to wait. She did not survive.
Graham’s death is not an isolated tragedy: As abortion bans in other states force patients to travel for care, clinics in states like North Carolina are increasingly overwhelmed, driving further delays that put lives at risk. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ProPublica has reported on seven preventable deaths of pregnant women—all seven occurred in states with abortion bans.
Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju released the following statement:
“Abortion bans have ripped another mother away from her family. Ciji Graham should be alive today, but North Carolina’s abortion restrictions delayed her care until it was too late. These laws don’t protect women—they are literally killing them. Lawmakers cannot claim to care about mothers while enforcing laws that jeopardize their lives. Anti-abortion politicians are inflicting irreparable harm, and we must hold them accountable.”
Candi Miller and Amber Nicole Thurman were among the first reported deaths as a direct result of abortion bans. ProPublica also reported on the preventable deaths of four Texas women because of the state’s abortion ban: Josseli Barnica, Porsha Ngumezi, Nevaeh Crain, and Tierra Walker.
###