Unfortunately I cannot include the full text of the Georgia “Heartbeat Bill” due to the length, but here is a portion of the bill:
SECTION 3.
Chapter 2 of Title 1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to persons and their rights, is amended by revising Code Section 1-2-1, relating to classes of persons generally, corporations deemed artificial persons, and nature of corporations generally, as follows:(a) There are two classes of persons: natural and artificial.(b) ‘Natural person’ means any human being including an unborn child.
(c) Corporations are artificial persons. They are creatures of the law and, except insofar as the law forbids it, they are subject to be changed, modified, or destroyed at the will of their creator.
(d) Unless otherwise provided by law, any natural person, including an unborn child with
a detectable human heartbeat, shall be included in population based determinations.
(e) As used in this Code section, the term:(1) ‘Detectable human heartbeat’ means embryonic or fetal cardiac activity or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the heart within the gestational sac.
(2) ‘Unborn child’ means a member of the species Homo sapiens at any stage of development who is carried in the womb.”
Georgia’s abortion laws are considered some of the most strict in the nation. Exceptions exist in the case of medical emergency, pregnancies’ resulting from rape or incest (before 20 weeks), or fetal unviability (“the pregnancy is medically futile”). (Section 4, Part B) Currently, those exemptions are being testing in a style similar to a story from the Handmaid’s Tale.
To reference the better known format of the story, the parallel occurs in “The Handmaid’s Tale” season 3, episode 9. One of the handmaids, Natalie (Ofglen) is declared brain dead after being shot following an act of rebellion. As punishment for her role, the main character, a handmaid named June, is forced to remain at Natalie’s bedside in the hospital, where Natalie is kept alive to continue to incubate her fetus. Eventually, Natalie’s condition worsens and the baby is delivered by c-section.
On May 16th, the Associated Press reported that a woman in Georgia, Adriana Smith, had been on life support for three months to provide an environment for her fetus to grow. Her mother, April Newkirk, reported to the TV station WXIA in Atlanta that she was declared brain-dead in February after multiple blood clots were found in her brain. At the time, her fetus was around nine weeks along. By the definition I follow, well before viability. However, due to the restrictive nature of Georgia’s antiabortion law, she must be kept alive to keep the fetus alive. Newkirk also told WXIA, “She’s pregnant with my grandson. But he may be blind, may not be able to walk, may not survive once he’s born,” due to water on his brain. The fetus is 21 weeks at the time of this reporting. According to the Washington Post report on this situation, Newkirk was told the hospital plans to maintain life support until the fetus reaches 32 weeks.
I remember when I first watched this episode of Handmaid’s Tale. I remember how absolutely sick I felt in that moment. That dystopian, complicated, and emotionally charged moment where June sat and contemplated taking Natalie off life support made the entire handmaid premise more fantastical. There is no way that would really happen, it is truly a work of fiction… right?
And yet, here we are. The same article I referenced from the Associated Press references a review of medical literature that searched for women who were declared brain-dead and kept alive to prolong their pregnancy. They found 35 different cases, 27 of which resulted in birth. However, those cases resulted in an average of only seven weeks of life support, which Smith’s case has surpassed.
While I take issue with using deceased women as an incubator for a growing fetus, I actually have a much bigger problem with this situation. Adriana’s family has reported that the doctors told her they cannot remove life support. The reporting I have found [AP News, The Washington Post, NBC News, etc] highlights her mother’s struggle, witnessing her daughter “living,” but not truly alive, and not being able to intervene in any direction. I could not imagine the emotional turmoil of having to make that decision, but that is not a choice that should be made by the state. In lieu of any advanced directive, continuation of life support should be a question posed to next of kin. The emotional, ethical, and legal weight of the situation cannot be overstated.
But what about the cost? According to the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the average cost per day for ICU care in 2010 was about $4,300, which increased 61% compared to 2000. Unfortunately, this is the most recent data the team could find, as well as myself. Based on this, however, one could surmise it would cost at least $4,300 per day for this woman to remain on life support. The Washington Post’s reporting states Newkirk has been on life support for more than 90 days, allowing us to estimate a cost of $387,000 so far.
Again, this is another situation where I advocate for socialized medicine. If the government is going to dictate that this woman, and any other woman who would be found in this situation, must be kept alive, that expense should be in their hands. It seems Ariana’s mother still faces a great financial burden that will remain shrouded in mystery until the child is born and eventually discharged.
Sources Cited:
“HB 481/AP.” Georgia General Assembly, Representatives Setzler of the 35th, Lott of the 122nd, Taylor of the 173rd, Bonner of the 72nd, Ehrhart of the 36th, and others, 20 Feb. 2025, http://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20192020/187013.
Amy, Jeff, et al. “Hospital Tells Family Brain-Dead Georgia Woman Must Carry Fetus to Birth Because of Abortion Ban.” AP News, AP News, 16 May 2025, apnews.com/article/pregnant-woman-brain-dead-abortion-ban-georgia-a85a5906e5b2c4889525f2300c441745.
Burke, Minyvonne. “Georgia Mother Says She Is Being Forced to Keep Brain-Dead Pregnant Daughter Alive under Abortion Ban Law.” NBCNews, NBCUniversal News Group, 16 May 2025, http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/family-forced-keep-brain-dead-pregnant-woman-alive-rcna207002.
Maxcy, Lynn Renee. “Heroic.” The Handmaid’s Tale, created by Bruce Miller, season 3, episode 9, Hulu, 17 July 2019.
Somasundaram, Praveena. “Adriana Smith, Brain-Dead Pregnant Georgia Woman, Kept on Life Support – The Washington Post.” The Washington Post, The Washington Post, 19 May 2025, http://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/05/19/georgia-mother-pregnant-brain-dead/.
Empathy in Progress 
How do you feel?