When Doctors Fear the Law: The Case of a Brain Dead Mother Kept Alive By Machines

Groups that promote access to abortion and medical services for Black women said Thursday that uncertainty about Georgia’s abortion restrictions were to blame for the decision to keep a brain dead, pregnant mother on life support.

Georgia’s so-called “heartbeat” law bans abortion once cardiac activity is detected in a fetus, typically six weeks into pregnancy.

There are exceptions for rape, incest and risk to the mother’s life, but the law, established by Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature on House Bill 481 in 2019, is silent about the situation that befell the family of Adriana Smith, who was reportedly placed on life support while pregnant after being declared brain dead.

“Just because HB 481 doesn’t explicitly mandate these devastating outcomes does not mean that anti-abortion politicians can wash their hands of responsibility,” said Aleo Pugh, who manages communications in Georgia for Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity.

“Abortion bans like HB 481 don’t just outlaw care, they intentionally create fear and confusion in moments when urgency and clarity are needed. Providers are made to second guess what care is legal,” added Pugh, who was among several advocates who were critical of Georgia’s law during a news conference Thursday.

HB 481 drew bitter resistance from Democrats as Republican lawmakers pushed it through the General Assembly. On Tuesday, state Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes, D-Duluth, sent Kemp a letter urging him to seek a legal opinion from Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr on what she called “the dangerously vague provisions” of the heartbeat law.

“Physicians and hospital administrators across Georgia are watching this developing situation closely, wary of being arrested for violating our abortion law if they provide medical care to mothers, or for violating its ‘fetal personhood’ provision if they make a reasonable medical judgment,” she wrote.

The senator’s letter said she wrote Carr last Friday seeking a legal opinion but hadn’t heard back. She noted that a statement his spokesperson gave to news outlets saying the law doesn’t require life support for a brain-dead pregnant woman “does not establish or interpret policy and does not carry the force of law.”

Kemp’s office on Thursday declined to comment about the law, referring to Carr’s statement.

WXIA-TV reported last week about Smith’s situation, quoting her mother as saying the medical decisions about her daughter should have been left to the family.