Adriana Smith: A voice unheard

Adriana Smith is a 30-year-old nurse and mother who was declared brain-dead in February. At the time of being declared brain-dead, Smith was 9 weeks pregnant with her second child. Since February, Smith has been kept on life support with the sole purpose of keeping the fetus alive and birthing it. Smith is now 22 weeks pregnant, and what is happening to her is a grave injustice and violation of her human rights. It is a dehumanization of her and of women around the world. And what makes the entire situation even more tragic is that all of this was preventable. The reason why Adriana Smith is now brain-dead is that her doctors refused to listen to her when she voiced concerns about her body, because they were biased and prejudiced against her as a Black woman.

(GoFundMe)

In February, Smith was experiencing headaches. Rightfully concerned, she went to a doctor, hoping for clarity and aid. Instead of helping her and attempting to get to the root of the problem, the doctors simply gave her a bit of medication and sent her on her way. Not a single test was run. Not a single bit of real attention was given to the worries Smith was expressing.

All it took was one night for Smith’s condition to substantially worsen. By the next morning, she could not breathe, and so her boyfriend called her an ambulance. It was only at this point that the doctors chose to run tests, which revealed blood clots in Smith’s brain. According to Smith’s mother, doctors claimed they were unable to perform any procedures to save Smith. 

Ultimately, the testing and identification of the blood clots came too late. If the doctors had listened to Smith when she first voiced her concerns about the headaches, if they had given her struggles even the slightest bit of consideration and thought, they could have caught the clotting before it deteriorated into such a horrifyingly severe state. Had the doctors done their job and truly made an effort to help Smith, Smith’s parents would still have a living daughter. Smith’s living five-year-old son would not be left motherless, forced to only view his mother in a hospital bed, believing her to be asleep, asking when she’ll wake up.

Adriana Smith’s story provides us with a tragic and sickening image of how the United States treats women, and the understanding that these circumstances originated from implicit bias and irresponsibility from the physicians Smith consulted only adds to the horror. The Black maternal mortality crisis is an ongoing issue that we need to continue to fight against. Continue speaking up. Say Adriana Smith’s name. Continue advocating for the mothers who are being stripped of their voices. Together, we can enact change and create a safer world for mothers everywhere.