It was bound to happen sooner or later: a case would come along that would challenge both sides of the abortion aisle.
Adriana Smith was a nurse at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, GA. She began experiencing headaches and gasping for air in her sleep. Her boyfriend called 911, and she was taken to Emory Decatur and then to Emory University Hospital. According to 11 Alive, she was diagnosed with blood clots in her brain following a CT scan. She was subsequently declared brain dead. Her family has been keeping vigil at her side, including her son, who believes his mother is just asleep. Adriana was pregnant at the time of her death, but her body has been kept alive via machine.
And she was pregnant. The fetus is still viable, and because of Georgia’s heartbeat law, Adriana’s body is still functioning to support her new son, who is in utero. Adriana will be kept alive until the baby reaches 32 weeks of gestation, at which time doctors believe he can survive outside of the womb. As of this writing, Adriana was at 22 weeks.
In the case of the Georgia heartbeat law, abortion is off the table once cardiac activity has been detected. There are exceptions for rape and incest, but Adriana’s case is new ground.
Adriana’s mother, April Newkirk, contends that the law has stripped the family of the opportunity to decide the matter of withdrawing care, adding that the family may have opted to have Adriana’s body carry the baby to the 32-week benchmark if they had been given the choice. She said that the heartbeat law has only added to the family’s trauma. She commented:
She’s been breathing through machines for more than 90 days. It’s torture for me. I see my daughter breathing, but she’s not there. And her son—I bring him to see her…I think every woman should have the right to make their own decision. And if not, then their partner or their parents…She’s pregnant with my grandson. But he may be blind, may not be able to walk, may not survive once he’s born. This decision should’ve been left to us. Now we’re left wondering what kind of life he’ll have—and we’re going to be the ones raising him.
And then, as crass as it may seem to some, there is the issue of cost. Hospital visits are not cheap, and the kind of care Adriana is receiving can spiral up into the six-digit range in no time at all. There is the matter of raising her newborn son, which April is committed to doing. She has started an online fundraising effort.
In a related report, 11 Alive noted:
In another case in Florida, doctors successfully delivered the baby of a 31-year-old woman who was declared brain dead while 22 weeks pregnant, but not without weeks of sustained monitoring, testing, and medical care. The woman’s family wanted to keep the fetus, physicians with the University of Florida College of Medicine said in a 2023 paper.
On her first day of admission, doctors administered hormones to raise her blood pressure and placed a feeding tube. After she was transferred to an intensive care unit, an obstetric nurse stayed by her bedside continuously to monitor the fetus’s heart rate and movements.
She was on a ventilator, regularly received steroids and hormones, and needed multiple antibiotics to treat pneumonia. Her medical team encompassed multiple specialties: obstetrics, neonatology, radiology, and endocrinology.
Doctors performed surgery to remove the fetus at 33 weeks when its heart rate fell, and the baby appeared to be in good health at birth.
I am not posting this story as some backdoor apologetic effort for the pro-abortion movement. Rather, I am posting it to note that as medical technology advances and people spar over things such as whether or not IVF embryos are people themselves, there needs to be serious discussion about eventualities such as Adriana’s. There are unforeseen issues with which to wrestle. And now is the time for the pro-life movement to consider its commitment to the unborn. The various centers that provide much-needed support to pregnant women are valuable beyond words, but is more required? To whom much is given, much is asked.
So, where to from here? What are your thoughts? I’ll be interested in reading the discussion in the comment section below.
At PJ Media, we are committed to keeping debate alive, but we can’t do it without your help. One way you can do that is by becoming a VIP member. It’s quicker and easier than ordering a latte from a Starbucks employee who refuses to wear a uniform. Click here to get started, and be sure to use promo code FIGHT for a 60% discount.
