Georgia’s attorney general says the state’s “heartbeat law” does not require a pregnant woman who has been declared brain-dead to remain on life support, despite reports last week that she was kept alive until her fetus could be delivered.
“There is nothing in the LIFE Act that requires medical professionals to keep a woman on life support after brain death,” the AG’s office said in a public statement Friday, according to local NBC affiliate WXIA. “Removing life support is not an action ‘with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy,'” the statement said, citing local state law.
Adriana Smith’s 30-year-old mother claims Emory University doctors informed her that the pregnant mother is on life support due to the LIFE Act, which they have condemned as “torture.” Supporters of the law have disputed the claim in recent days, claiming Smith’s case is unique due to the lack of abortion and her health crisis.
“Our reading of the situation is that this particular circumstance was not intended, nor does it apply, with the heartbeat bill,” Mack Parnell of the Faith and Freedom Coalition told WXIA.
The conservative advocacy group has spoken out in support of the legislation and Smith’s medical situation.
“Trying to paint the ‘heartbeat’ bill as doing something that it doesn’t is a disservice to our state,” Parnell tweeted. “This was not the intention. We will leave these decisions to the family. And I will be sympathetic to the family in whatever situation they find themselves in.”
Smith’s mother, April Newkirk, told WXIA last week that when her daughter was nearly nine weeks pregnant in February, she started having severe headaches and went to the hospital. According to Newkirk, hospital staff sent Smith home with medication and no CT scan or further observation.
The next morning, Smith’s boyfriend awoke to find her gasping for air and gurgling, and he called 911. When she arrived at the hospital, a CT scan reportedly revealed several blood clots in her brain.
Newkirk told WXIA that if her daughter had received a CT scan or been admitted to the hospital when she arrived, “they would have caught it.” “It could have been prevented.”
Doctors asked Newkirk for permission to perform a procedure to relieve pressure on her brain, which she granted. “Then they called me back and said they couldn’t do it,” Newkirk explained to WXIA.
Smith was declared brain dead, with no chance of recovery. However, because she was nearly nine weeks pregnant, Newkirk said the doctors informed her that Georgia’s so-called “heartbeat law” prohibits the medical termination of her pregnancy because a fetal heartbeat was detected, as required by the law.
And because Smith is no longer considered at risk due to her lack of brain activity, she is being forced to remain on life support until her fetus is deemed viable, which could be as late as 32 weeks gestation. Smith is reportedly 21 weeks pregnant as of this writing.
Newkirk has not stated whether her family would have terminated the pregnancy if given the option. They believe that the decision should have been theirs and not influenced by legal interpretations.
“I’m not saying that we would have chosen to terminate her pregnancy,” Newkirk told WXIA. “But I am saying we should have had a choice. “We should have had a choice.”
Georgia Senator Ed Setzler (R-Acworth), who introduced the LIFE Act, praised the hospital’s decision to keep Smith on life support, describing it as a recognition of the value of life.
“I’m thankful for the hospital recognizing the full value of this small human life that’s living inside of this tragically dying young mother,” Setzler shared with WXIA on Friday. “Mindful of the agony of this young mother’s family.”
