I Need Your Help Supporting Adriana's Family
The state is forcing them to pay for life support for their pregnant daughter, declared legally dead three months ago
There are some days when reporting isn’t enough. Today feels like one of those days.
At first, the news was just bizarre, parts of it even slightly funny. But, I’m horrorstruck by what’s happening in Georgia to the family of Adriana Smith.
Before I talk to you about it, I’m asking you to please donate to financially support the family, who is likely facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills.
Here’s the link:
Support Adriana Smith's family - if GA won't pay, we will
In case you’d rather watch than read, here’s a quick—admittedly emotional— recap of the story.
The Written Version
In February, newly pregnant Adriana Smith was rushed to the hospital after suffering a series of headaches and suspected related internal bleeding. But it was too late. The doctors declared 30-year-old Adriana Smith brain-dead —legally dead.
Today, May 16, Adriana Smith is 21 weeks pregnant. Because of Georgia state law, the hospital is requiring that the family keep her on life support until she can deliver the baby (32 weeks at the earliest). A baby who doctors warned them has fluid on his brain, and it’s not guaranteed he will survive the pregnancy.
Georgia’s heartbeat bill, passed before the overturning of Roe v. Wade, recognizes a fetus as having full personhood after 6 weeks. Meaning, even at 9 weeks — three weeks before completing a first trimester, Adriana’s baby was considered a full person. Georgia’s law does have exceptions for medical emergencies if the woman’s health is compromised. But because Adriana is legally brain-dead, and therefore cannot be “harmed” by the pregnancy, the state requires that she bring the baby to term.
The family has no say in the matter. So, for the last three months and for at least the next 11 weeks, they are being forced to watch as doctors keep Adriana on life support for the baby.
Emergency room visits in this country are prohibitively expensive. Now, imagine having to cover a 6-month-long emergency visit, minimum, for a family member who was pronounced legally dead, because the government is forcing you to keep her “alive.”
It would be one thing if this was what the family wanted. But, they don’t get a choice. Instead, they are forced into this horrific, grief-soaked purgatory: waiting, speculating, and watching the costs rise.
This both infuriates me and brings me to tears. The fact that this family is caught in this legal gray area. That they can’t properly grieve their daughter, figuring out how to move forward without moving on. That they are not only dealing with the emotional burden of loss, but the financial one as well. That they don’t have a fckng choice.
Grief is already a beast. Having the government involved is a straight-up nightmare.
I wanted to do something more than just report, and I noticed there wasn’t a GoFundMe for the family. So I started one.
To be honest, I generally have my own issues with GoFundMes. I find it ridiculous that health care in this country is so expensive, that we have to lean on each other for financial support — that hospitals and health care professionals suggest it.
Personal feelings aside, however, this is urgent. We can’t change the law to include medical exceptions, but we can support them. These people need our help. I hope you will consider donating and sharing with your people. And, if you know how to get in touch with the family, please let me know, so I can add them to the link.
Thank you for your compassion and understanding.
Support Adriana Smith's family - if GA won't pay, we will.
Thank you again.
-Lesley