The mother of an Atlanta-area woman says her pregnant daughter was declared brain-dead more than three months ago, but the state’s abortion law has caused doctors to keep the woman on life support.
Adriana Smith, a registered nurse at Emory University Hospital, has been on life support in the hospital where she worked since early February, after her boyfriend found her gasping for air and making gargling sounds in her sleep, according to 11 Alive, who first reported the news.
Smith was nine weeks pregnant at the time.
April Newkirk, Smith’s mother, told the television station that a CT scan found multiple blood clots in Smith’s brain, and doctors later declared her to be brain-dead. When reached by phone Thursday, Newkirk declined to be interviewed by an Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter.
In a statement, hospital representatives said federal privacy laws block them from commenting about individual patients.
“Emory Healthcare 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,” the hospital said in the statement. “Our top priorities continue to be the safety and wellbeing of the patients we serve.”
Abortion rights activists and providers say Georgia’s unclear abortion law will continue to lead to tragic situations in legal gray areas.
Monica Simpson, executive director of abortion rights organization SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, said Smith’s situation is the result of several factors, including Georgia’s high maternal mortality rate and the state’s abortion law. SisterSong has sued the state over its abortion law.
“First, Adriana deserved to be trusted by her health care professionals. Second, her family deserved the right to have decision-making power about her medical decisions,” Simpson said. “Instead, they have endured over 90 days of re-traumatization, expensive medical costs, and the cruelty of being unable to resolve and move toward healing.”
Smith had gone to a different hospital the day before, complaining of severe headaches. Newkirk said her daughter was sent home with medication, according to 11 Alive.
Because Smith, 30, was nine weeks pregnant at the time, and the embryo had detectable cardiac activity, Newkirk said doctors have kept Smith on life support for more than 90 days.
Georgia law bans most abortions after medical professionals can detect fetal cardiac activity, which is typically around six weeks of pregnancy and before many know they are pregnant. Later abortions are allowed in limited cases, such as if there is a fetal abnormality or if the life of the mother is at risk. There also are exceptions in instances of rape or incest when a police report has been filed.
But Newkirk said because her daughter is already brain-dead and not “at risk” of death, doctors told her the law requires them to keep Smith’s body functioning until the fetus is likely to survive outside the womb — typically around 32 weeks of pregnancy. Newkirk said Smith is currently 21 weeks pregnant.
She told 11 Alive that Georgia’s abortion law has taken away the ability for Smith’s family to choose how to address her health.
Newkirk told the television station she worries not only about the emotional toll on her family, including Smith’s young son, but also the medical expense of keeping her daughter’s body alive to continue to grow the fetus. She said doctors have told her there is fluid on the fetus’s brain, and it’s unclear if there will be health complications after birth.
State Sen. Ed Setzler, an Acworth Republican who sponsored Georgia’s abortion law, said he would be thankful if this results in the birth of a healthy adult.
“I’m proud that the hospital recognizes the full value of the small human life living inside of this regrettably dying young mother,” he said. “Mindful of the agony of this young mother’s family, the wisdom of modern medical science to be able to save the life of a healthy unborn child is something that I trust in future years will lead to great joy, with this child having a chance to grow into vibrant adulthood.”
For years, abortion rights advocates and providers have said Georgia’s law is unclear because much of the language used is not in medical terms. For example, the law says abortions may occur if the mother is experiencing a “medical emergency,” but doctors say that’s difficult to interpret because there is no bright line between a person being fine and at risk of death.
A recent survey of Georgia OB-GYNs, done by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology in conjunction with Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, found that nearly half of doctors participating said they have personally encountered cases where care had to be delayed, causing death or health complications for the mother, as a result of ambiguity in the state’s abortion law.
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