Does abortion prohibit the best rights in the family? The story of Adriana Smith

A Georgia Hospital said that Adriana Smith legally hoped in February. She was nine weeks pregnant. Today, her body is maintained on life support to give the fetus that she had the opportunity to prosper. She does not breathe alone. She cannot speak or communicate in another way. His condition is considered irreversible. She has been hospitalized for over 90 days.

“Brain death, also commonly called death by neurological criteria, has been considered a legal definition of death for decades” and “although the functions of many body’s organ systems can be artificially supported, the brain is the main control system governing vital bodies”, according to the Journal of Intensive Care.

The health professionals responsible for Smith’s care cannot withdraw the respiratory tubes from his body due to the potential impact on the fetus it carries, according to the Associated Press. Their inaction has been credited with what some call a “bill for fetal heartbeat”.

Smith asked for help for a severe headache before being declared dead from the brain. She was sent home without scans that would have shown several blood clots on her brain. His boyfriend found him in distress. She was transported urgently to hospital, but it was too late for effective intervention. The ineffectiveness of people responsible for his care reflects the type of systemic racial discrimination with which many black women are confronted.

Smith’s mother April Newkirk nicknamed this “avoidable” situation. This brought sadness and stress to their families, including the son of Smith, five years old.

Traditionally, families are responsible for making complete medical decisions on behalf of their incapable loved ones. Choices on the opportunity to delete or not fans and other partially conservative measures are taken daily by families.

This affair is unique because Smith cannot defend herself, and his relatives have been disaggregated by these complicated legal measures. They did not have the choice. He raises questions about the role of family wishes in a climate where legislation plays a more important role than ever in health care decisions. Doctors have different opinions on ethical considerations associated with posthumous reproduction.

Smith’s mother commented on the distress she experiences with the fact that her daughter’s physical being continues to be kept in part alive despite her lack of brain function in an interview with a subsidiary of NBC News.

“It’s a torture for me,” said Newkirk. “I see my daughter breathing, but she is not there.”

“It should have been left to the family,” said Newkirk during his interview with the station. She revealed that the fetus had significant health problems, according to the updates she received during an interview with Local News Out 11 Alive.

“It can be blind, may not be able to walk, may not be able to survive once it was born,” said Newkirk. “This decision should have been left to us. Now we wonder what kind of life he will have, and we are going to be those who raise him. ”

She did not express the wishes of her family in both directions. She simply declared her feelings not to be allowed to make the choice on behalf of her daughter. “I am not saying that we would have chosen to terminate her pregnancy, but what I say is that we should have had a choice,” she added by speaking to the affiliate of NBC.

Smith is now 21 weeks pregnant. It would be planned to keep it on support for life until it is 32 weeks and the fetus can be delivered. Newkirk told 11 alive that the process would lead to “more costs, more trauma, more questions”.

Georgia has one of the country’s most restrictive reproductive health environments. “In 2019, Georgia House Bill 481 (HB 481) adopted a narrow margin, prohibiting abortions when detecting an embryonic cardiac activity, from six weeks of gestation,” according to the Journal of Sexual and Reproductive Health. The bill, promulgated by Governor Brian Kemp, was initially canceled by the Superior Court of the County of Fulton. Later, after the reversal of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Georgia Court has restored controversial law.

Smith’s family not only cries the loss of the mother and the 30 -year -old nurse they loved. According to the NBC interview in Newkirk, they are also potentially incurred by the hospital of financial obligations associated with its prolonged treatment.

This case has become a lightning rod for a dark speech surrounding the impact of abortion bans on pregnant people and their families. Experts, activists and commentators have raised concerns about what a person is incapable means for their reproductive health.

This is not the first case of Georgia to draw attention after the promulgation of the ban. Social media cried the life of another mother from Georgia and health professional named Amber Thurman in 2022. Thurman died after she could not access reproduction care, according to propublica reports.

The American Journal of Public Health theorized that unfavorable health care results may result from delays in abortion care for people affected by strict georgia abortion in 2015.

Other states, including Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, Virginia-Western and Kentucky, have austere approaches similar to access to reproductive health care.

We can never forget Adriana Smith; She is more than a body.

Resources:

Journal of Intensive Care

Journal disparities of racial ethnic health

AM Journal of Ethics

Journal of Sexual and Reproductive Matters

Propuplica

American Journal of Public Health