In February, Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old nurse and mother from Georgia, recently began implementing her own plan. Her family is now challenged with difficult choices about her care during this difficult year. When Smith got her diagnosis, she was 21 weeks pregnant. Doctors had cautioned that if born, her fetus would be at high risk for multiple serious challenges. Her tragic story has become a focal point for understanding the complicated intersection of medical ethics and state abortion laws.
Smith’s troubles started three and a half months ago when she developed severe migraines. She was treated with emergency medicine at Northside Hospital in Atlanta and discharged. Soon after arriving home to College Park, Georgia, she unexpectedly required emergency treatment at Emory University Hospital. Her doctors soon found blood clots in her brain. This sad discovery eventually succumbed her to a state of brain death.
That has made this all the more harder for Smith’s closely knit family, including her mother, April Newkirk, and her five year old son. As they move through this intense emotional journey, they’re staying connected to her at the hospital through visits. Newkirk expressed the gravity of the situation, saying, “She’s pregnant with my grandson. He may be blind, may not be able to walk, may not survive once he’s born.”
Georgia’s abortion laws might be able to keep Smith on life support for years. This would allow the pregnancy to proceed for a longer period of time while the fetus develops. The family is still reeling from this tragic loss. They should have to balance the life of Smith’s unborn child with the realities of her medical condition.
As Monica Simpson, executive director of Sister Song Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, explained, these decisions are best made by families themselves. She stated, “Her family deserved the right to have decision-making power about her medical decisions.”
Emory Healthcare has recognized the sensitive nature of the case. A representative stated that they “use 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. Our highest priorities remain the safety and wellbeing of the patients that we serve.