𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗠𝗡 | Pro-Life But Inhumane? How Anti-Abortion Laws Undermine Human Rights

𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗰𝗮 𝗝𝗮𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗼

Women are strong human beings. They bring life into this world — but they shouldn’t be treated as if their only purpose is to deliver a baby, or in other words, as mere baby machines. These past few weeks have revealed how society continues to treat women, especially in the tragic case of Adriana Smith, a 31-year-old nurse who was kept on life support to incubate the fetus inside her. Because of an abortion ban, she essentially lost control over her own body — even in death.

People may have diverse perspectives on abortion, but in cases where a mother dies, the child should be taken out of the body immediately, and the hospital should step in. They could incubate the baby or carry out the necessary procedures to keep the child alive and in stable condition.

But to use a mother’s body as an incubator when she is medically and legally considered dead is another level of cruelty. It is not abortion if the mother has already died. Honestly, this situation was a result of medical negligence right from the start. It wouldn’t have reached this point if Adriana had received the proper medical attention she desperately needed.

When she first complained about severe headaches, she should have been tested for possible underlying conditions. Instead, she was given medication and sent home. The next day, she was gasping for air and rushed to the hospital, where they discovered multiple blood clots in her brain. She was declared brain-dead on February 19. From that moment on, her body became government property — she had no voice, and neither did her family.

Do we really value laws over human dignity? She was kept on life support without her consent. Not that she was capable of giving it, but her family should have had the right to decide whether or not she should be kept alive.

And if it was the hospital’s decision to keep Smith on life support, then her family should not have been charged for it. That’s not just irresponsible — it’s deeply inconsiderate.

Finally, she never gave birth. The fetus was simply removed from her after being incubated for several weeks. It wasn’t a birth, nor a C-section. It was more akin to an autopsy because she was already dead. As humans — all of us born from a woman — this should never be normalized. Let this be the first and last time a woman is violated, even in death.

Adriana Smith was a woman, a healthcare worker, a daughter, a sister, a loving partner, and most of all, a mother. Women are so much more than baby machines.