{"id":37447,"date":"2025-06-07T00:37:49","date_gmt":"2025-06-07T00:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/?p=37447"},"modified":"2025-06-07T00:37:49","modified_gmt":"2025-06-07T00:37:49","slug":"hospital-keeps-brain-dead-woman-alive-to-save-unborn-baby-citing-georgia-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/learn\/hospital-keeps-brain-dead-woman-alive-to-save-unborn-baby-citing-georgia-law\/","title":{"rendered":"\u75c5\u9662\u3001\u30b8\u30e7\u30fc\u30b8\u30a2\u5dde\u6cd5\u3092\u5f15\u7528\u3057\u3001\u80ce\u5150\u3092\u6551\u3046\u305f\u3081\u306b\u8133\u6b7b\u72b6\u614b\u306e\u5973\u6027\u306e\u751f\u547d\u7dad\u6301\u3092\u7d99\u7d9a"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. \/ Credit: Harrison Keely, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

CNA Staff, May 16, 2025 \/ 10:39 am (CNA).<\/p>\n

A Georgia hospital is requiring that a pregnant woman who was declared brain dead more than 90 days ago remain on life support until the birth of her unborn child.<\/p>\n

In February, doctors declared 30-year-old Adriana Smith, a nurse who was nine weeks pregnant, brain dead after discovering multiple blood clots in her brain.<\/p>\n

According to Smith\u2019s mother, April Newkirk, after visiting the hospital complaining of painful headaches, Smith was \u201cgiven medication\u201d and sent home. Smith\u2019s boyfriend found her \u201cgasping for air\u201d the next morning and called 911. After a CT scan, doctors discovered the blood clots and eventually determined nothing could be done.<\/p>\n

Emory University Hospital in Atlanta informed Newkirk that due to Georgia state law<\/a>, because Smith is brain dead and no longer considered at risk, her medical team is legally required to keep her on life support<\/a> until her unborn child can survive outside the womb.<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s family, including her young son, visits her in the hospital regularly. Newkirk \u5148\u903111Alive\u306b\u5bfe\u3057<\/a> that seeing her daughter, who is now 21 weeks pregnant, \u201cbreathing through machines\u201d the last three months has been \u201ctorture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Newkirk said not having any choice in the matter has been difficult. She also said she is concerned about raising both her grandsons and the mounting medical costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re hoping to get the baby to at least 32 weeks,\u201d Newkirk said of Smith\u2019s doctors. \u201cBut every day that goes by, it\u2019s more cost, more trauma, more questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Georgia law prohibits abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually around the sixth week of pregnancy. While removing life support from a pregnant woman is not a direct abortion, Smith\u2019s situation is not clear from a legal perspective.<\/p>\n

\u5f8b\u6cd5 defines<\/a> abortion as \u201cthe act of using, prescribing, or administering any instrument, substance, device, or other means with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy with knowledge that termination will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of an unborn child.\u201d<\/p>\n

State Sen. Ed Setzler, lead sponsor of the Georgia law while he served in the state House of Representatives in 2019, told CNA that he is glad \u201cthe hospital is seeking to stabilize the child.\u201d <\/p>\n

In Setzler\u2019s opinion, the hospital\u2019s reading of the law \u201cis not inconsistent with the way the statute is crafted because of the direct foreseeability that ending the mother\u2019s life ends the life of the child,\u201d though \u201cyou could argue that the removal of the life support of the mother is a separate act\u201d from an abortion.<\/p>\n

\u4e00\u65b9\u3067 Catholic Church teaches<\/a> that direct abortion is always wrong, in a case like Smith\u2019s, it is \u201ccomplicated,\u201d Joseph Meaney, senior fellow at the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC), told CNA.<\/p>\n

Meaney said the Church recognizes<\/a> that in cases like Smith\u2019s, where there is no clear teaching, a \u201cdiscernment of conscience\u201d is required. He said these situations can \u201creach a threshold of disproportionate burdens,\u201d which can include financial considerations. <\/p>\n

Another NCBC ethicist, Joe Zalot, told CNA that Smith\u2019s case is a question of prudential judgment. Removing Smith from life support \u201cwithout the direct intent to kill her unborn child\u201d is not an abortion, he said.<\/p>\n

However, Zalot continued, \u201cwhen a woman is pregnant, doctors will say they are treating two patients. In this case, you have one patient, the mother, who is deceased, and another patient who is alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question is, if it can be demonstrated that we are not harming the mother,\u201d Zalot said, \u201ccan we give the unborn child an opportunity to live?\u201d<\/p>\n

In the end, Meaney said, \u201cthe state of Georgia says it has state interest in the life of the child, and they\u2019re stepping in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emory Healthcare did not respond to CNA\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. \/ Credit: Harrison Keely, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons CNA Staff, May 16, 2025 \/ 10:39 am (CNA). A Georgia hospital is requiring that a pregnant woman who was declared brain dead more than 90 days ago remain on life support until the birth of her unborn child. In February, doctors declared 30-year-old Adriana Smith, a nurse who was nine weeks pregnant, brain dead after discovering multiple blood clots in her brain. According to Smith\u2019s mother, April Newkirk, after visiting the hospital complaining of painful headaches, Smith was \u201cgiven medication\u201d and sent home. Smith\u2019s boyfriend found her \u201cgasping for air\u201d the next morning and [\u2026]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":46131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[100],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-37447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-news"],"mb":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Hospital-keeps-brain-dead-woman-alive-to-save-unborn-baby-citing-Georgia-law.webp?fit=640%2C480&quality=75&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38393,"url":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/learn\/georgia-attorney-general-life-act-doesnt-require-keeping-pregnant-brain-dead-woman-alive\/","url_meta":{"origin":37447,"position":0},"title":"Georgia attorney general: LIFE Act doesn\u2019t require keeping pregnant brain-dead woman alive","author":"Christian Pure Team","date":"5\u6708 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Gold dome of the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta. \/ Credit: Rob Hainer\/Shutterstock CNA Staff, May 21, 2025 \/ 17:33 pm (CNA). In response to national outcry over the case of Adriana Smith, a brain-dead pregnant woman on life support, the Georgia attorney general\u2019s office released a statement clarifying that the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Christian News","block_context":{"text":"Christian News","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/learn\/category\/christian-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Georgia attorney general: LIFE Act doesn\u2019t require keeping pregnant brain-dead woman alive","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Georgia-attorney-general-LIFE-Act-doesnt-require-keeping-pregnant-brain-dead-woman-alive.webp?fit=800%2C533&quality=75&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Georgia-attorney-general-LIFE-Act-doesnt-require-keeping-pregnant-brain-dead-woman-alive.webp?fit=800%2C533&quality=75&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Georgia-attorney-general-LIFE-Act-doesnt-require-keeping-pregnant-brain-dead-woman-alive.webp?fit=800%2C533&quality=75&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Georgia-attorney-general-LIFE-Act-doesnt-require-keeping-pregnant-brain-dead-woman-alive.webp?fit=800%2C533&quality=75&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":58462,"url":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/learn\/miracle-woman-inspires-native-youth-through-faith-and-survival-story\/","url_meta":{"origin":37447,"position":1},"title":"\u2018Miracle woman\u2019 inspires Native youth through faith and survival story","author":"Christian Pure Team","date":"10\u6708 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Diocese of Fairbanks\u2019 Ukveryaramta Tungiinun team members Danielle Beaver and Jesuit Father Gregg Wood in Chefornak. \/ Credit: Danielle Beaver Rome Newsroom, Jul 27, 2025 \/ 06:00 am (CNA). 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Jenniffer Gonz\u00e1lez signed into law on Feb. 12 a bill amending the penal code to recognize unborn babies as human beings at \u201cany stage of gestation.\u201dSenate Bill 923 \u2014 which when signed became Law 18-2026 \u2014 amends Article 92 of the penal code, which currently states that\u2026","rel":"","context":"Christian News","block_context":{"text":"Christian News","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/learn\/category\/christian-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"mfb_rest_fields":["title","jetpack_publicize_connections","jetpack_featured_media_url","jetpack-related-posts","jetpack_sharing_enabled"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37447"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=37447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}