Attorney General Asserts ‘Heartbeat Law’ Does Not Protect Pregnant Women’s Lives

Georgia’s attorney general has clarified that the state’s “heartbeat law” does not necessitate keeping a pregnant woman who has been declared brain-dead on life support, contrary to recent reports suggesting she was being maintained in such a state until her fetus could be delivered.

In a public statement on Friday, AG Chris Carr’s office noted, according to NBC affiliate WXIA, that “There is nothing in the LIFE Act requiring medical professionals to maintain a woman on life support after brain death.” The statement further clarified that removing life support does not equate to an action carried out “with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy,” as defined by the law.

Adriana Smith’s mother, aged 30, claims that doctors at Emory University have informed them that the pregnant woman remains on life support due to the LIFE Act, which they have criticized as “torture.” However, proponents of the law have disputed this assertion recently, emphasizing that Smith’s situation is unique due to the absence of abortion and the nature of her medical condition.

“Our reading of the situation is that this particular circumstance was not intended, nor does it apply, with the heartbeat bill,” said Mack Parnell, of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, in a statement to WXIA.

The conservative advocacy group has been speaking out in support of the legislation and Smith’s medical ordeal.

“Trying to paint the ‘heartbeat’ bill as doing something that it doesn’t is a disservice to our state,” Parnell said. “It was not the intention. We will leave those decisions to the family. And I will be very empathetic to the family whatever circumstance they find themselves in.”

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Smith’s mother, April Newkirk, spoke to WXIA last week and said that when her daughter was nearly nine weeks pregnant in February, she began experiencing severe headaches and went to the hospital. Hospital staff sent Smith home with medication — no CT scan, no further observation, Newkirk said.

The next morning, Smith’s boyfriend woke to find her gasping for air and gurgling, and he called 911. When she arrived at the hospital, a CT scan allegedly revealed several blood clots in her brain.

Newkirk told WXIA that if her daughter had received a CT scan or been admitted to the hospital when she first went in, “they would have caught it. It could have been prevented.”

Doctors asked for Newkirk’s permission to perform a procedure to relieve pressure on her brain, and she granted it. “Then they called me back and said they couldn’t do it,” Newkirk told WXIA.

Smith was declared brain-dead, with no hope of recovery. However, because she was almost nine weeks pregnant, Newkirk said the doctors told her Georgia’s so-called “heartbeat law” forbids the medical termination of  her pregnancy since a fetal heartbeat was detected, which is required under the law. And because Smith is no longer seen as being at risk because of her lack of brain activity, she is being forced to stay on life support until her fetus is considered viable, possibly until 32 weeks of gestation. Smith is reportedly 21 weeks pregnant as of this writing.