A Georgia woman says she is forced to keep her brain-dead daughter alive on life support due to the state’s abortion ban law.
The woman, April Newkirk, said her 30-year-old daughter, Adriana, started having extreme headaches in February. At the time, she was nine weeks pregnant with her second child.
Adriana had seeked out treatment at Northside Hospital but was released after being given pain killers. The facility did not run any scans or tests.
A day after going to the hospital, Adriana’s boyfriend found her making garling noises and gasping for air.
She was immediately rushed to the hospital, where it was determined via CT scan that she had several blood clots in her brain.
Newkirk said her daughter has been kept on a ventilator for over 90 days, and the family has had no say in the decision.
Newkirk described the situation as “torture,” saying that although she can see her daughter, “she’s not there.”
According to reports, the plan is to keep her daughter on life support until the baby reaches 32 weeks, when his chances of survival will be higher.
Abortion Ban
In 2019, Republican Governor Brian Kempt signed a near-total abortion ban, though it didn’t come into effect until 2022.
Under the law, abortions are banned after six weeks of pregnancy, which is when cardiac activity can be defected in the fetus, with a few exceptions, including cases involving fetal abnormalities or risks to the mother’s life. The ban also allows exceptions for instances of rape and incest.
Newkirk told media outlets that her daughter is currently 21 weeks pregnant. She said doctors informed the family that, legally, there’s nothing else they can opt for.
She believes that the decision should have been up to the family.
Newkirk said that while they would not have chosen to terminate her pregnancy, they should have had a choice in the matter.
According to Monica Simpson, the director of SisterSong, an organization dedicated to reproductive justice for women of color, the problem started when Adriana was refused proper care at the hospital when she sought out treatment for her headaches.
She said her family’s situation highlights a deeper issue – the legal grey areas surrounding the abortion ban.
Simpson noted that the abortion ban law creates “a kind of uncertainty for doctors” and also “a kind of uncertainty for those who oppose it.”
Newkirk added that her family is also struggling with the financial burden of keeping her daughter on a ventilator.
