Hospital tells family brain-dead Georgia woman must carry fetus to birth because of abortion ban

By JEFF AMY and GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press ATLANTA AP A pregnant woman in Georgia was declared brain-dead after a therapeutic urgency and has been kept on life aid for three months by doctors to allow enough time for the baby to be born and comply with Georgia s strict anti-abortion law family members say The circumstance is the latest consequence of abortion bans introduced in certain states since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade three years ago Adriana Smith a -year-old mother and nurse was declared brain-dead meaning she is legally dead in February her mother April Newkirk advised Atlanta TV station WXIA Newkirk explained her daughter had intense headaches more than three months ago and went to Atlanta s Northside Hospital where she received medication and was circulated The next morning her boyfriend woke to her gasping for air and called Emory University Hospital determined she had blood clots in her brain and she was later declared brain-dead Newkirk mentioned Smith is now weeks pregnant Removing breathing tubes and other life-saving devices would likely kill the fetus Neither hospital this instant responded to emails Thursday from The Associated Press Georgia s abortion ban Smith s family says Emory doctors have stated them they are not allowed to stop or remove the devices that are keeping her breathing because of a provision in state law that bans abortion after cardiac activity can be detected generally around six weeks into pregnancy The law was adopted in but not enforced until after the U S Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in opening the door to state abortion bans Georgia s ban includes an exception if an abortion is necessary to maintain the life of the woman Smith s family including her five-year-old son still visit her in the hospital Newkirk stated doctors stated the family that the fetus has fluid on the brain and that they re concerned about his fitness She s pregnant with my grandson But he may be blind may not be able to walk may not survive once he s born Newkirk disclosed Newkirk has not commented on whether the family wants Smith removed from life aid Who has the right to make these decisions Monica Simpson executive director of SisterSong which is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging Georgia s strict abortion law stated the situation is problematic Related Articles Missouri lawmakers approve referendum to repeal abortion-rights amendment Despite historic indictment doctors will keep mailing abortion pills across state lines Trump administration asks judge to toss suit restricting access to abortion medication US maternal death rate rose slightly last year wellness representatives say Colorado s first-in-the-nation sperm donor rules just took effect Now lawmakers may roll certain back Her family deserved the right to have decision-making power about her physiological decisions Simpson mentioned in a report Instead they have endured over days of retraumatization expensive anatomical costs and the cruelty of being unable to resolve and move toward healing Lois Shepherd a bioethicist and law professor at the University of Virginia disclosed she does not believe Georgia s law requires life sponsorship in this occurrence But she declared whether a state could insist Smith remains on the breathing and other devices is uncertain since the ruling in Dobbs v Jackson Women s Robustness Organization which overturned all the parts of the Roe ruling including the finding that fetuses do not have the rights of people Pre-Dobbs a fetus didn t have any rights Shepherd explained And the state s interest in fetal life could not be so strong as to overcome other pivotal rights but now we don t know A spotlight on Georgia s abortion law Georgia s law confers personhood on a fetus Those who favor personhood say fertilized eggs embryos and fetuses should be considered people with the same rights as those already born Georgia state Sen Ed Setzler a Republican who sponsored the law declared he supported Emory s interpretation I think it is entirely appropriate that the hospital do what they can to save the life of the child Setzler disclosed I think this is an exceptional circumstance but I think it highlights the value of innocent human life I think the hospital is acting appropriately Setzler commented he believes it is sometimes acceptable to remove life backing from someone who is brain dead but commented the law is an appropriate check because the mother is pregnant I think there s a valuable human life that we have an opportunity to save and I think it s the right thing to save it he explained To suggest otherwise is to declare the child as being other than human Setzler declared the woman s relatives do have good choices including keeping the child or offering it for adoption Georgia s abortion ban has been in the spotlight before Last year ProPublica announced that two Georgia women died after they did not get proper diagnostic remedy for complications from taking abortion pills The stories of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller entered into the presidential race with Democrat Kamala Harris saying the deaths were the outcome of the abortion bans that went into effect in Georgia and elsewhere after Dobbs Abortion bans in other states The situation echoes a episode in Texas more than a decade ago when a brain-dead woman was kept on maintenance measures for about two months because she was pregnant A judge eventually ruled that the hospital keeping her alive against her family s wishes was misapplying state law and life promotion was removed Twelve states are enforcing abortion bans at all stages of pregnancy with limited exceptions Georgia is one of four with a ban that kicks in at or around six weeks into pregnancy often before women realize they re pregnant Last year the Texas Supreme Court ruled unanimously against a group of women who challenged that state s abortion ban saying the exceptions were being interpreted so narrowly that they were denied abortion access as they dealt with serious pregnancy complications This year the state Senate has passed a bill that seeks to clarify when abortions are allowed South Dakota produced a video to inform doctors about when exceptions should apply Abortion rights groups have blasted it The U S Supreme Court heard arguments in December over whether the federal law that requires hospitals to provide abortion in emergency anatomical situations should apply A ruling is expected in coming months Mulvihill revealed from Cherry Hill New Jersey Associated Press journalists Kate Brumback Sharon Johnson and Charlotte Kramon contributed