On Monday’s episode of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Politically Georgia” podcast, the hosts answered questions from the listener mailbag.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution journalists Greg Bluestein and Tia Mitchell responded to questions about former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms running for governor, the U.S. House passing the reconciliation package and a new law that could allow President Donald Trump to recoup millions of dollars of legal costs from taxpayers.
The hosts also answered a voicemail about Adriana Smith, whose family said Smith was declared brain-dead months ago but claimed the state’s abortion law has caused doctors to keep her on life support.
State Sen. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, sponsored Georgia’s anti-abortion law that restricts most abortions as early as six weeks. He said Smith’s case was a tragedy that had nothing to do with the anti-abortion law.
“This is a case in which an expecting mom is in a terrible medical condition herself, and the clinicians rightly recognize there are two patients here to be cared for,” he said.
State Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes, D-Duluth, disagreed and said this case highlights a core problem of the state’s abortion law.
“There’s a chilling effect when it comes to our hospitals and our medical professionals. There’s a gray area here, and they’re trying to not break the law,” she said.
Attorney General Chris Carr’s office released a statement saying the state’s abortion law does not require that Smith be kept on life support.
“Removing life support is not an action with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy,” Carr spokesperson Kara Murray said in the statement. “Our prayers go out to the woman’s family.”
Have a question or comment for the show? Call or text the 24-hour Politically Georgia Podcast Hotline at 770-810-5297. We’ll play back your question and answer it during our next Monday Mailbag segment. You can also email your questions to PoliticallyGeorgia@ajc.com.
Listen and subscribe to our podcast for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also tell your smart speaker to “play the Politically Georgia podcast.”
On the next episode: Hosts talk to the AJC’s Savannah and Athens bureau chiefs.
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