Georgia's state abortion prohibition saved the life of a pregnant, brain-dead lady

In the U.S. state of Georgia, a pregnant woman who is medically brain dead is being kept alive on a ventilator until her baby is born since, according to state law, taking the patient off life support would be an unlawful abortion. 

Since February, Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old nurse and mother, has been in a vegetative state. However, Georgia's stringent anti-abortion laws, which went into force following the Supreme Court's historic decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, prevent doctors from compassionately ending her life.

Smith will probably stay on life support for months until her baby can be delivered safely, even though she is legally dead.

In February, April Newkirk, Smith's mother, informed Atlanta television station WXIA that her daughter had been suffering from severe headaches and had been hospitalized to Northside Hospital over three months prior. However, she was discharged after being given medication. Smith was gasping for oxygen when her boyfriend woke up the morning after her release and dialed 911. After concluding that she had blood clots in her brain, the medical staff at Emory University Hospital declared her brain dead.

Smith is currently 21 weeks pregnant, according to Newkirk. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a full-term pregnancy is between 39 weeks and 40 weeks and six days, and the fetus would probably die if her breathing tubes and other life-saving equipment were removed.

Emory issued a statement stating that it “uses consensus from clinical experts, medical literature, and legal guidance to support our providers as they make individualized treatment recommendations in compliance with Georgia’s abortion laws and all other applicable laws.” However, due to confidentiality laws, neither hospital is able to comment on her case. 

"The safety and wellbeing of the patients we serve remain our top priorities," the statement said.

Smith's family claims that because Georgia's abortion laws prohibit abortion once cardiac activity in the fetus is identified, Smith's doctors are unable to turn off the equipment that are keeping her alive.

State-specific abortion prohibitions were made possible by the bill, which was passed in 2019 but went into force in 2022. Twelve states currently forbid abortion at any point during pregnancy, and three—including Georgia—forbid it beyond around six weeks.

Abortions are allowed under Georgia's Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act if the mother's life is in danger due to the pregnancy. Abortion is also permitted up to 20 weeks into a pregnancy if it is medically unnecessary or the result of rape or incest, however both of these circumstances call for a police report.

Although Smith's family frequently visits her in the hospital, including her five-year-old son, Newkirk told WXIA that they are worried about the fetus's health because it has fluid surrounding its brain. 

She is carrying my grandson. However, he might not be able to walk, be blind, or live after birth, Newkirk told the local publication.

Smith's predicament also calls into question her family's ability to decide how she will be treated, Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong, the main plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the state's abortion prohibition, told the Guardian.

"Her family should have the authority to make decisions regarding her medical care," Simpson stated. "Rather, they have had to deal with more than ninety days of retraumatization, high medical expenses, and the inhumanity of not being able to move past and toward healing."

Smith will remain on life support until the kid is able to survive outside the womb; according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a child is deemed "viable" at around 24 weeks.