Georgia abortion law questioned as brain-dead pregnant woman is kept on life support

The recently revealed story of a brain-dead pregnant woman who has been on life support since February has reignited the simmering legal and medical debate over Georgia’s strict abortion law.

Adriana Smith was nine weeks pregnant when physicians declared her brain dead in mid-February after doctors discovered multiple blood clots in her brain. Her family told 11Alive she was kept on life support because Georgia’s abortion restrictions require it until the fetus can be delivered.

Democrats and abortion rights advocates highlighted the tragedy to renew calls to repeal the state’s 2019 law, which restricts most abortions as soon as six weeks into a pregnancy — before many women know they are pregnant.

State Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes, D-Duluth, penned a letter to Republican Attorney General Chris Carr questioning whether it’s “legally required” under Georgia’s abortion law to keep Smith alive.

“Let me be plain: this is a grotesque distortion of medical ethics and human decency,” she wrote. “That any law in Georgia could be interpreted to require a brain-dead woman’s body to be artificially maintained as a fetal incubator is not only medically unsound — it is inhumane.”

Carr, a Republican candidate for governor who backed the 2019 law, has yet to respond to Parkes’ letter. But his office recently indicated in a statement that the statute doesn’t mandate life support in such cases.

“There is nothing in the LIFE Act that requires medical professionals to keep a woman on life support after brain death,” the statement said. “Removing life support is not an action ‘with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy.’”

Things to know

Credit: Stephanie Scarbrough/AP

Credit: Stephanie Scarbrough/AP

Good morning! Here are three things to know for today:

Back on track

The U.S. House Budget Committee held a rare Sunday evening vote to advance the “big, beautiful bill” championed by President Donald Trump after a handful of hard-right members, including Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde, blocked the legislation on Friday.

This time, Clyde and three others voted “present” which allowed the measure to advance out of the committee with the support of 17 other Republicans. All 16 Democrats on the panel voted “no.”

The Associated Press reported that House Speaker Mike Johnson met with Clyde and other Republicans who were unhappy with the reconciliation bill before the meeting. Johnson later told reporters that he had to agreed to “just some minor modifications. Not a huge thing.”

Concerns from Clyde, R-Athens, mainly center on delaying work requirements for Medicaid recipients until 2029, increasing federal funding received by states who expanded Medicaid and the reluctance from Republicans to repeal a $200 tax on the purchase of gun suppressors. (More on this below.)

After the meeting, Clyde shared a statement from the House Freedom Caucus that made clear the members who allowed the bill to advance Sunday night still believe “it does not yet meet the moment.”

“Thanks to discussions over the weekend, the bill will be closer to the budget resolution framework we agreed upon in the House in April, but it fails to actually honor our promise to significantly correct the spending trajectory of the federal government and lead our nation towards a balanced budget,” the statement said.

‘Gobsmacked’

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

State Rep. Noelle Kahaian said she “absolutely” felt inspired by state Sen. Colton Moore, who was arrested earlier this year for defying a ban on entering the Georgia House, an altercation the Henry County Republican said transformed her first months in office.

“It changed me as a person, as a legislator. It really steeled my spine. And the fact that so few people said anything, which means everyone’s condoning this,” said Kahaian. “I was gobsmacked.”

Her remarks came in a revealing interview with Nathaniel Darnell, the president of the ultraconservative Georgia Republican Assembly.

Kahaian, a newly minted member of the Georgia Freedom Caucus, also leveled unsparing criticism against fellow Republicans she said were all too happy to go with the flow.

“It feels like there’s just green drones up there. Listen, Nathaniel, I could have a fantastic freshman year. I could sit back, I could drink my coffee. And I could press that green button. And I could have no problems,” she said. “But that’s not me. That’s not my district.”

Silencing suppressor regulation

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

There are a lot of reasons why President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” budget bill was blocked on Friday before it was resurrected late Sunday night. But one factor that hasn’t gotten much attention: a $200 federal tax on suppressors.

Suppressors are devices that make guns quieter. The federal government has regulated them for fear criminals would muffle their gunfire to aid their crimes by making them harder to detect.

But U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens, says suppressors have a higher purpose — protecting the hearing of gun owners. Clyde owns two gun stores in Georgia, which both sell suppressors.

He introduced a bill to repeal federal regulations of suppressors. It means you wouldn’t have to register the suppressor or pay a $200 tax to buy it. More than that, the bill would also prohibit state governments from requiring people to register their purchases or pay a tax.

With the House Republican reconciliation bill facing tight margins on the Budget Committee, Clyde used his vote as leverage to add the suppressor language in the bill. It didn’t work, and Clyde voted against the proposal on Friday. He changed his vote to “present” on Sunday as the bill ultimately advanced.

Suppressors can reduce the noise of a gunshot by as much as 35 decibels, which is about the same as wearing earplugs, according to the American Suppressor Association. The group calls recreational target hunting or shooting as “the most serious threat to hearing.”

Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control group, calls that a “myth.” They say the real reason the gun industry wants to deregulate suppressors is because they stand to make a lot of money. The group argues suppressors are dangerous, especially in a mass shooting situation where gunshots warn people to run or take cover.

Feet to the fire

Credit: Brynn Anderson/AP

Credit: Brynn Anderson/AP

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff has some questions — and he’s not being nice about it.

The Atlanta Democrat has a spot on the high-profile Senate Appropriations Committee, which frequently puts him across the desk from some top Trump administration officials. He’s making the most of the screen time that he’s getting.

Ossoff has clashed with two Trump appointees this month, including one tense exchange last week over a canceled public health grant for Thomasville that exasperated Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin.

“President Trump put out executive orders as it relates to environmental justice, with regards to DEI,” Zeldin said.

“Is a new health clinic for Thomasville, Georgia, woke?” Ossoff replied.

Ossoff’s attacks aren’t just reserved for the committee rooms. He has been holding virtual news conferences with reporters, most recently to attack the Trump administration for canceling the Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase Program that helps prevent veterans from losing their homes to foreclosure.

Ossoff’s aggressiveness is part of the normal churn of a campaign cycle. But it’s also likely a response to the more vocal portions of his base, who have pushed for Ossoff to do more to resist the Trump administration.

All or nothing

The Georgia Faith & Freedom Coalition released its legislative scorecard last week, and the best word we can use to describe it is “polarizing.”

Of the 132 Republicans who were scored, 105 received a grade of A+ while 21 had A grades. Of the 101 Democrats who were scored, 97 received an F and four had Ds. The lone outlier was state Rep. Lynn Heffner, D-Augusta, who received a B.

Judging by this list, you would think lawmakers were constantly at war with each other. But that’s only because the coalition only scored lawmakers on 16 pieces of legislation — many of which were the most controversial items of the session. That includes the ban on transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports and removing legal protections from librarians.

You can expect lots of scorecards like these to be released in the coming weeks. They’re useful for viewing the session through the lens of various interest groups. But in this case, we’re willing to bet some Democrats view their “F” grade as a badge of honor.

Listen up

Credit: Jason Getz /AJC

Credit: Jason Getz /AJC

Today on “Politically Georgia,” Greg Bluestein and Patricia Murphy answer listener questions about executive orders, first lady Marty Kemp, and Gov. Brian Kemp’s latest round of vetoes.

Then, AJC senior reporter Tamar Hallerman joins the show to talk about a new law that could open the door for taxpayers to cover Donald Trump’s legal costs in the Georgia election interference case.

Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.

You can listen and subscribe to the show for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Today in Washington:

Shoutouts

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

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Before you go

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

Dennis T. Hubert was an 18-year-old student at Morehouse College when he was lynched by a group of white men in 1930. Sunday, Morehouse honored Hubert with a posthumous degree.

That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.