The body of a pregnant woman artificially maintained alive because of the anti-avoortment law-Liberation

Further and further in horror. After death of a 28 -year -old pregnant American in the State of Georgia, due to the political and legal battle Against the right to abortionanother woman, living in the same state, has been kept artificially alive for three months, pregnant, to allow the fetus to grow and be given birth. A decision of the hospital under the law known as Georgia’s « heartbeat », which prohibits abortion as soon as a cardiac activity is detected in the fetus. This Friday, May 16, his family mediate the case with the American media, denouncing the fact that she did not have her say.

Aged 30, Adriana Smith was a nurse, and mother of a 5 -year -old boy when in February, she was declared in a state of brain. She had been suffering from violent headache for a few days when she was admitted to the Emory university hospital in Atlanta, where blood clots were diagnosed in the brain and then her death, announced. So pregnant for a few weeks, doctors refuse to disconnect the devices now alive, according to the law of the State prohibiting the practice of abortion from six weeks of pregnancy.

This ultra-restrictive law, adopted in 2019only entered into force after the catastrophic cancellation of ROE v. Wadewhich guaranteed the right to abortion in the United States, allowing each State to do as they see fit. Since then, twelve states have banned abortion at all stages of pregnancy, and three others apply conditions similar to those of Georgia (an entry into force after about six weeks). An exception is still provided in the state of the Southeast if abortion is necessary for the maintenance of a woman’s life.

Today, Adriana Smith is 21 weeks pregnant, and the withdrawal of her respiratory tubes would likely lead to the death of the fetus. His family, including his 5 -year -old son, always visits him to the hospital. His mother, April Newkirk, told an Atlanta television channel that doctors were worried about the health of the unborn child because he had developed liquid in the brain. « He could be blind, unable to walk, and not survive his birth, » she deplored.

The hospital, for its part, was content to publish a statement indicating that their decisions were based « On the consensus of clinical experts, medical literature and legal advice, (…) in accordance with Georgian laws on abortion and all other applicable laws ». And to add, without embarrassment: « The safety and well-being of patients remain our absolute priority. » The senator of the State of Georgia, Ed Setzler, a republican who strongly supported the law of « CFFSœur ”, came to the rescue of the hospital establishment: “It is quite suitable that the hospital does everything he can to save the child’s life. (…) I find this situation unusual, but it underlines the value of innocent human life. I think the hospital acts appropriately. ”

In addition to the more than doubtful moral and ethical aspect, experts are not certain that Georgian law really applies in the case of Adriana Smith. Questioned by Associated Press, Thaddeus Pope, bioethician and lawyer in Minnesota, said that if some states have laws that specifically prohibit disconnecting a pregnant woman in a state of cerebral death, Georgia is not part of it. « The cessation of mechanical ventilation or any other assistance system would not constitute an abortion », he said. « Pursuit of treatment is not legally required. » Laws Shepherd, bioethician and law professor at the University of Virginia, also does not think that the maintenance of vital functions is legally required in this case.

It is not the first time that a woman in a state of brain is kept alive because it is indeed. In Texas, in 2014, Marlise Munoz had been maintained under respiratory assistance for about two months, against the will of his family, before a judge finally rules that the hospital had poorly applied the law of the State. She had been disconnected. If the Georgian hospital persists, Adriana Smith should still be kept alive for three additional months before arriving at the end of her pregnancy. A dangerous shift towards a society where more rights are granted to the fetus than to women – even dead.