Georgia Attorney General: Law Does Not Say Doctors Must Keep Brain Dead Pregnant Woman on Life Support

Georgia’s attorney general says the state’s abortion law doesn’t require keeping a brain-dead pregnant woman on life support, contradicting what doctors told her family.

🏥 Why It Matters: This clarification comes too late for Adriana Smith, who remains on machines 90 days after being declared brain dead. Her case shows how hospitals, uncertain about how Georgia’s abortion law might be enforced, kept her on life support The hospital made the decision to keep her on life support. Months later after the story was covered in the press, Attorney General Chris Carr issued a statement saying the law does not require that course of action.

The episode shows how concerns over legal exposure can often take priority over patient care and medical judgment in hospital decision-making.

When Georgia’s controversial heartbeat bill was first passed, opponents of the bill speculated that issues like this might arise, where doctors could harm patients in an effort to comply with the law in ways lawmakers may not have intended.

🔍 The Statement: Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr’s office issued a clear statement about the state’s LIFE Act as it relates to this case: “There is nothing in the LIFE Act that requires medical professionals to keep a woman on life support after brain death. Removing life support is not an action with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy,” Carr’s office said.

🚨 What Happened: Smith, a 30-year-old nurse and mother, went to Northside Hospital with severe headaches while nine weeks pregnant. Doctors gave her medication but performed no tests before sending her home.

The next morning, her boyfriend found her gasping for air. At the hospital, scans revealed multiple blood clots in her brain. She was declared brain dead shortly after.

⚖️ Between The Lines: Hospitals increasingly make defensive medical decisions to avoid potential lawsuits or criminal charges, especially in states with strict abortion laws.

Smith’s family says doctors told them they must keep her on life support until the fetus reaches viability — directly contradicting the attorney general’s interpretation of the law.

💔 The Human Cost: Smith’s family believes doctors could have saved her daughter and avoided this entire situation if they had taken her symptoms seriously.

Studies show that women’s pain and symptoms are frequently dismissed in medical settings.

A study published in The Journal of Pain found that observers tend to underestimate women’s pain compared to men’s, attributing women’s pain more often to psychological factors rather than physical causes.

Smith’s young son believes his mother is just sleeping. Meanwhile, the fetus, now at 21 weeks, has fluid on the brain with uncertain health outcomes.