We are living in a dystopian future

In Georgia, Adriana Smith, a mother and nurse, was declared brain-dead but was put on life supports to keep a 9-week fetus alive. The decision by the hospital is based on its interpretation of Georgia’s law banning most abortions if fetal cardiac activity can be detected — about six weeks into pregnancy. Ms. Smith’s partner and her mother were not given an opportunity to participate in the decision.

There was no closure for Adriana Smith’s son and family. There is no plan to support this family if a disabled baby is born, as water on the brain has been detected. There is no underwriting for the tremendous cost of this procedure.

Two miscarrying Georgia women died as treatment was delayed because medical personnel couldn’t decipher ambiguities in the Georgia law regarding abortion. In all these cases, the women became inconsequential. The potential for life, no matter its viability, took precedence.

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is alive and well.

Julie Sass

Elk Grove Village