Mother Forced to Keep Pregnant Daughter Alive After She's Declared Brain Dead Due to Abortion Ban: 'It's Torture'

[Nevilledog]

https://people.com/pregnant-woman-declared-brain-dead-kept-alive-due-to-abortion-ban-11734676

An Atlanta woman has been brain dead for more than 90 days but her family is forced to keep her alive due to a state ban on abortion. Now, her mother is detailing how the experience has been “torture” for their family.

In early February, Adriana Smith — a 30-year-old mom and registered nurse — started experiencing intense headaches. She was about nine weeks pregnant so she visited a local hospital because the symptoms were “enough to know something was wrong.”

“They gave her some medication, but they didn’t do any tests. No CT scan,” Smith’s mother, April Newkirk, told 11Alive. “If they had done that or kept her overnight, they would have caught it. It could have been prevented.”

The following morning, Newkirk said Smith’s boyfriend found her gasping for air in her sleep, making gurgling noises which they believe was due to blood.

Smith was rushed to the hospital. A CT scan later revealed multiple blood clots in her brain. Doctors were planning to go into surgery, but it was too late. They declared Smith brain dead.

*snip*

[Dan]

1. Not to sound morbid, but who is paying?

[rich7862]

2. This is one sick degenerate mother.

[Deep State Witch]

5. Are You Referring to the Woman in the Article?

Because she's being forced to keep her pregnant daughter alive because of the fetus. She's not doing this for her daughter's health. She's doing it because the state government is forcing her to.

[misanthrope]

9. Then the state

Should pay the outlandish hospital bills that will result.

[malaise]

3. Eff these monsters

Rec

[Deep State Witch]

4. This Is Sick

Handmaid's Tale kind of shit.

That mother needs to sue the living snot out of the State of Georgia for her daughter's medical bills.

[mucifer]

6. It's horrible seeing someone who is really dead on a ventilator. I am a nurse

at end of life when the organs fail and the family keeps someone on a ventilator the person looks bloated, sometime blood coming out of the mouth and/or eyes, the skin turns yellow.

It's really horrible.

Most people who hear this woman "is being kept alive on a ventilator" have no idea what that looks like. They just think it looks like how people on a ventilator look on tv or movies.

[nolabear]

7. So what's the prognosis for the fetus?

Can it be healthy and come to term in such an environment? What would be the outcome of developing in what sounds like terrible toxicity. Incredible torture for everyone.

[nolabear]

10. I looked it up.

It’s possible the baby will be okay but opinion, even medical opinion, varies widely. The concurrent info is disturbing to read. So many doctors exhausted with what they’re going through, thinking of retiring, vowing to never go near a red state. I fear for the people having to only have “believers” treating them.

[haele]

8. She was only around 9 weeks along?

I hate to say this, because it sounds really cold and indifferent, but that can't be good for a developing fetus. There's a lack of hormonal stimulation, not to mention no active immune system transfer from the mother to the fetus.

This is just a risk mitigation - a sympathy ploy - "Okay, we might have made a tragic but understandable mistake with the mom, but we are still providing the best medical care we can to the bay-bee! Don't sue us for the Mom. We're keeping Baby alive so it can be born, just like Mom wanted!"
Afterwards, they'll probably let it pass in NICU if there's any obvious fatal birth defects, or pass the risk and cost of subsequent long term trauma damage from this to Ms. Smith's survivors.

[hlthe2b]

11. Had the daughter made her wishes clear, that would be one thing; as it is, it is unwillful and merely parasitism.

Yes, it is a baby, but 9 weeks of gestation! Would we keep her as a "living" incubator if she had a rare parasite that we needed to study once it had evolved from one form to another and could be viably collected? I know that comparison is disturbing, and I would not make it if it were clear what the daughter's (AND the family's ) wishes were, but it appears their wishes, concerns, and grief is not even at issue.

Still, the medical practitioner in me now moves to the fact that she was pregnant WITH severe headaches and no CT scan was done. I typically try not to second-guess, but I have to wonder what her BP was. Not to have had the immediate concern that she might be encountering a thromboembolic state and appropriately ruled it out--in pregnancy!-- leaves me a bit incredulous. There may be other extenuating issues, but, damn.

My thoughts are with the family

[mucifer]

12. I hope her heart stops beating soon and no medications will work to keep her blood pumping.

[Quiet Em]

13. This happened before in Texas

A court eventually ordered the life support removed.

That fetus is not going to be viable.

Disgusting. They are treating this woman as an incubator.

[3catwoman3]

14. The rabid right-to-lifers...

...are out in full force in the comments section of the linked article

[TommieMommy]

15. OMG how horrible

[Mosby]

16. The doctors have abrogated their responsibilities to lawyers

They need to hire an attorney to deal with the hospital attorneys.

And the doctors involved need to be reported for misconduct and malpractice.

[Initech]

17. Oh goody, here we go again.

Fuck the Christian right ghouls, this is beyond sick.