The Debate Club discussion
Ethics and Education
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Is What Happened to Adriana Smith Ethical?
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Barnette ⋆˙⟡ (my girlfriend's version), Creator, Head Moderator
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True thanks!
I think that the problem with the Adrianna smith case is not that she was kept on life support, because the family could have chosen to do so, but the problem is that the government forced this woman’s family to keep her on life support as a human incubator for MONTHS. The cost of that is astronomical, and her family will be forced to pay for it. Her son believed that his mom was just sleeping, because his do you explain to a child that his mother is dead, but her body is still alive. They had planned on keeping the fetus inside her for longer but were forced to remove him via autopsy because her body was literally rotting away. I cannot imagine the trauma of knowing that you were born from a dead body, if the child is mentally capable of understanding at some point, however it is likely that he will have sever disabilities. Or the trauma of her older son. This was a blatant act of disrespect towards this poor woman and her family without giving them a choice in what would happen to her, instead being forced to watch her waste away and rot before their eyes.
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Exactly. Not only this, but it’s hard to trust government officials to do the right thing for women now. Georgia is a state that bans abortion in all cases but with exceptions of rape and medically necessary. I would say that’s pretty fucking medically necessary if she died. This shows us that abortion bans with exceptions can’t be trusted. Women will die just like Adrianna. Because the government won’t and can’t handle exceptions, and it’s so so disgusting.
This is NOT pro-life. This is pro-birth, and in the worst ways.
I agree with all of this. It feels very handmaids tale-esque to me, very dystopian. I think its also notable to add that Adriana was a black woman who went to the hospital hours before her death and they sent her home saying she was fine. Pro-"lifers" can no longer claim that they care truly about life. Adraina's family's mental and financial life were completely obliterated. The child was born severely physically disabled. To me, its obvious that people are obsessed purely with birth. Its so "your body my choice". It's seeing women as a vessel and as an incubator. I truly do think that this was done as a government experiment-if you can birth one baby from a brain dead woman, you can surely use other brain-dead women for surrogacies and do so many other things to them without their consent. I'm so disgusted and i pray for Adriana's family, Adriana, and the women to follow her every single day.
Personally I don't see the case as ethical. They chose to put Adriana on life support without asking her family or spouse first. That is how it should work they always need to notify the family. As for the fetus, it seems like they were keeping her alive so that the fetus should develop. Adriana might have wanted this but it does not mean that they should automatically do it over they families wishes or before the family can even have any input. This case backs up my opinions of healthcare seeing women simply as incubators or an object to produce children for the next generations. It absolutely disgusts me and I will literally not have children out of spite as the publics view on women (among other reasons.) I feel terrible for her family because they had to watch their daughter deteriorate without having any say in anything and this case made me lose more faith in our medical system.
From Google:
"The pregnancy of Adriana Smith, a woman from Georgia, US, was the focus of a medical ethics controversy. Following a medical emergency in February 2025, Smith was declared brain dead but continuing fetal cardiac activity was detected."