Georgia woman claimed coerced to sustain brain-dead, pregnant daughter against abortion prohibition legislation
A harrowing tale unfolds in Georgia as a brain-dead pregnant woman is forced to remain on ventilators, all thanks to the state's strict abortion laws. That's right, folks. The ATL's own Northside Hospital released this poor lady, Adriana Smith, after a simple headache med regimen, only for her to wind up brain-dead days later.Now, as she approaches 21 weeks of pregnancy, she's hooked up to machines for over 90 days, breathe-bnables be damned.
According to her mom, April, Adriana started sufferin' from some gut-wrenchin' headaches back in early Feb. She was pregnant with her second child, nine weeks along. The hospital sprung her with some meds, but they didn't even run the basics. A day after seekin' treatment, her boyfriend wakes up to hear her gaspin' and garglin' like a fish outta water. So, they rush her to Emory Decatur, then transfer her to Emory University, where a CT scan showed multiple blood clots in her noodle.
Adriana's been literaly brain-dead since then, and her family can only watch as she's kept alive by machines. April tells it like it is, "It's torture for me. I see my daughter breathing, but she's not there."
Now, Georgia's right-wing governor, Brian Kemp, signed this near-total abortion ban in 2019 that didn't take effect until this year, after a legal challenge and the U.S. Supreme Court reversing Roe v. Wade. Under the law, abortions are illegal after six weeks of pregnancy, but that ain't stoppin' the state from stickin' ol' Adriana to that respirator.
The plan's to keep her hooked up until her little boy can breathe on his own, likely at 32 weeks. And it's gonna cost the family a fortune to keep her tickin' over.
So, what's the deal? Well, it seems the state's got a bigger interest in that fetus than they do in Adriana's life. They claim they're legally obligated to keep her alive 'til baby's safe and sound. But what about the toll it's takin' on the family? April put it bluntly, "We should have had a choice."
This ain't the first time Georgia's anti-abortion laws have raised eyebrows. Critics like Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong, argue that these laws create uncertainty for medical care providers, luminosity for families like Adriana's, and pose ethical and moral quandaries.
Bills like these, they say, demand compassionate policy and legal frameworks that navigate the complexities of such situations. But for now, it's Adriana's life hangin' in the balance while the rest of us sit and watch. It's a nightmare. A real-life, Georgia-style nightmare.
- The conversation around health and wellness has extended to mental health, with many questioning the ethics behind keeping Adriana Smith, a brain-dead pregnant woman, on life support due to Georgia's strict abortion laws.
- Advocates for womens' health are calling for policy and legislation changes, arguing that laws like Georgia's near-total abortion ban create moral and ethical dilemmas, especially in cases involving medical-conditions and neurological disorders like Adriana's.
- In the wake of Adriana's case, there's been growing debate about the state's interventions in private health matters, with some pointing towards the potential impact on women's health, especially during menopause and beyond.
- Politicians and policy-makers are under pressure to address these concerns, with many calling for more compassionate and flexible policy-making that considers the broader implications on patients, families, and health-care providers.
- Meanwhile, the general news continues to follow Adriana's harrowing story, highlighting the broader issue of how medical-conditions and political decisions intersect, especially in sensitive areas like end-of-life care and women's reproductive health.
