Georgia Abortion Ban Forces Family to Keep Pregnant, Brain-Dead Woman on Life Support

A 30-year-old Black woman in Georgia has been kept on life support for three months against her family’s wishes because of the state’s “fetal heartbeat” anti-abortion law. Adriana Smith was declared legally dead in February after a medical emergency caused her brain function to cease. Smith, a nurse, had been initially turned away when she first sought medical care. She was nine weeks pregnant at the time. But because her medical providers would face legal consequences including jail time if they were to end the pregnancy, Smith’s body is still being kept on breathing machines despite the fact that Smith herself can no longer be resuscitated. The case demonstrates once again that “it is deadly to be Black and pregnant,” says Monica Simpson of the reproductive justice organization SisterSong.