A Brain-Dead Pregnant Woman Forced to Remain Alive in Georgia Due to Strict Abortion Laws
Medical practitioners in the U.S. maintain brain-dead pregnant individuals through artificial means for a time, prolonging their existence.
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In the US state of Georgia, a pregnant woman declared brain-dead following a medical emergency is being artificially sustained by doctors. The reason? Georgia's strict abortion laws, which prevent doctors from terminating life support until the fetus can survive outside the womb[3]. This case may become one of the longest artificially sustained brain-dead pregnancies in U.S. history, with over three months still to go until the due date[4].
The 30-year-old woman, Adriana Smith, experienced a severe headache and sought medical attention at the Northside Hospital in Atlanta. After medication, she was released. The following morning, her friend discovered Smith gasping for air. At the Emory University Hospital, doctors diagnosed a brain hemorrhage. Shortly after, she was declared brain-dead. At the time, she was in her ninth week of pregnancy[3].
Smith's family alleges that the treating physicians, bound by Georgia's abortion laws, were unwilling to terminate life support when they detected fetal heart activity—a typical finding from the sixth week of pregnancy[4]. As a result, Smith's family has been subjected to additional trauma, high medical costs, and the agony of finding no cure or path to healing[5].
April Newkirk, Smith's mother, told local TV station WXIA that her daughter is now in her 21st week of pregnancy. She also revealed that the fetus, according to doctors, has fluid in the brain, potentially causing blindness, impaired mobility, and postnatal mortality[3].
Monica Simpson, a Pro-Choice activist, voiced her sentiments: "Their family should have had the right to participate in their medical decisions. Instead, they have endured additional traumatic experiences, exorbitant medical costs, and cruelty, without finding a solution or making a step towards healing."
The Northside Hospital did not comment on AP's request for comment. Emory Healthcare, responsible for Emory University Hospital, stated that due to data protection regulations, they could not offer a statement[5].
Politics Wyoming Bans Ultrasound Before Pill AbortionThe statement from Emory Healthcare read: "We support our medical professionals in making individual treatment recommendations in accordance with Georgia's abortion laws and all applicable laws. The safety and wellbeing of our patients continue to hold the highest priority for us."
Sources: ntv.de, jpe
- Georgia
- Abortion
- USA
- This lengthy artificial sustainment of a brain-dead pregnancy in Georgia might set a record in U.S. history, given that the due date is still over three months away.
- Employment of doctors in Georgia is guided by the community policy known as strict abortion laws, which are preventing them from terminating life support until the fetus can survive independently.
- Adriana Smith, the 30-year-old brain-dead woman, experienced a severe headache and sought medical attention, but despite medication and release, she later gasped for air due to a brain hemorrhage.
- A Pro-Choice activist, Monica Simpson, expressed her concern, stating that Smith's family should have had the right to participate in medical decisions but instead has faced additional traumatic experiences, high medical costs, and a lack of healing.
- In her 21st week of pregnancy, Smith's mother, April Newkirk, revealed that the fetus has fluid in the brain, potentially causing blindness, impaired mobility, and postnatal mortality.
- Georgia's strict abortion laws are causing controversy in the medical-conditions, health-and-wellness, and mental-health sectors, as they are subjecting families to unnecessary trauma and heavy costs.
- Politics in the USA are actively shaping the landscape of women's health, with Georgia's abortion laws being one example of policy-and-legislation affecting real people like Adriana Smith.
- Interestingly, the issue of car-accidents, crimes-and-justice, and accidents, such as fires, often take center stage in politics and media news, while cases like Adriana's, concerning women's health and menopause, are often overlooked.
- Neurological-disorders, including conditions like migraines and other health problems, must be prioritized in the science and medical-conditions discourse, especially in cases where severe medical emergencies require being weighed against fetal development, as is the case with Adriana Smith.
