How US abortion laws are dragging women into legal and ethical nightmares

In the aftermath of the 2022 US Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v Wade, several US states have enforced strict abortion bans and expanded the legal concept of ‘fetal personhood.’ Two recent cases from Georgia illustrate how these laws are reportedly leading to emotionally devastating and legally complex outcomes for women and families.

One such case involved Selena Maria Chandler-Scott, a woman from rural Georgia who reportedly suffered a miscarriage at around 19 weeks of pregnancy in March, as per report. 

After a 911 call reportedly described her as unconscious and bleeding, she was taken to a hospital. However, the situation escalated when a witness claimed she had placed the fetal remains in a dumpster. Following this, local police reportedly recovered the remains and arrested her on charges of concealing the death of another person and abandoning a dead body.

As per reports, an autopsy later confirmed that Maria had experienced a natural miscarriage and that the fetus was not alive. The charges were ultimately dropped, but the incident raised concerns among reproductive health experts about how such miscarriages are treated under Georgia’s restrictive abortion laws.

Georgia’s ‘Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act’ bans abortions after six weeks and grants legal recognition to fetuses with a detectable heartbeat. Critics argue that such laws create legal uncertainty for women experiencing pregnancy loss, as even a natural miscarriage can reportedly be treated as a criminal event depending on how fetal remains are managed.

In another case in Georgia, Adriana Smith, was declared brain dead in February after suffering a severe brain clot, remains on life support more than three months later, as per reports. 

According to local news reports, Smith was approximately eight weeks pregnant at the time of her hospitalisation. Despite being declared brain dead, she is reportedly kept on life support after doctors cited Georgia’s abortion laws, which they interpreted as requiring the preservation of the fetus.

Her family stated they were told that the fetus, now at approximately 22 weeks, has medical complications, including fluid in the brain, as per reports. The hospital reportedly intends to keep Smith on life support until early August, when a C-section will be performed to deliver the baby.

This decision is also reportedly backed by student associations opposing abortion, stating that while Adrian may not be able to speak, her son deserves the right to be born and she might have wanted the same for him.