JUSTICE FOR ADRIANA SMITH
It’s been over 100 days since Adriana Smith passed. Yesterday, the baby was delivered. Adriana was forced to remain on life support and continue her pregnancy against her family’s wishes.
Adriana Smith, a 31-year old Black nurse from Atlanta, Georgia, had her medical concerns dismissed and ignored by her providers when she complained of severe headaches at nine weeks pregnant. The following day, she was rushed to Emory University Hospital, where she was soon declared medically brain dead from multiple blood clots in her brain. Adriana was on life support for over 100 days due to her medical team’s fear of legal retaliation from Georgia’s near-total abortion ban. On June 17th, the fetus was removed via c-section and Adriana was removed from life support.
Her family has been forced to endure an unimaginable turn of events that has resulted in the loss of their loved one and a lack of say over personal medical decisions. Our hope is that now, they can begin to heal and begin a new chapter with Adriana’s second child. FAN is dedicated to supporting the efforts for justice and bodily autonomy led by our Southern sister organization, ARC-Southeast, Georgia’s only abortion fund.
Florida Access Network is in solidarity with the family of Adriana Smith.
The case of Adriana Smith is a dark reflection the systemic flaws of reproductive healthcare providers in the South and nationally. These are the consequences of the politics being waged over our bodies.
No one should be forced to continue a pregnancy against their will.
The way this case is unfolded is a dark reminder of the deeply entrenched anti-Blackness, misogyny, and discrimination within the dominant medical systems. Adriana was failed by her medical team and the Georgia lawmakers who impose endless restrictions on our access to full-spectrum reproductive care.
