This week on Where Are All the Women, Mary Lou Singleton and Meghan Murphy discuss the case of Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old nurse and mother who has been connected to life support machines for more than 90 days in order to keep her fetus alive. A CT scan discovered multiple blood clots in her brain when she was around eight or nine weeks pregnant, and Adrian was declared brain-dead, but her fetus’s heart continued to beat. Adriana’s mother said the hospital informed her that, because of the fetus her daughter was carrying, it could not legally withdraw the artificial means of keeping her body functioning. Adriana is now approximately 22 weeks pregnant. Is this ethical on account of a desire to save a life? Or is this a dangerous practice, leading us to a place where women’s bodies are treated as state-regulated incubators?
This episode aired live on YouTube and X on May 28, 2025. Where Are All the Women streams live every Wednesday at 6PM PT/9PM ET on YouTube and X!
