Latest news with #LifeAct
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Lawmakers want clarification on abortion bill after controversy over brain-dead pregnant woman
Some Democratic state senators are demanding that the state attorney general clarify just what the Georgia Life Act covers. The law essentially bans all abortions in Georgia after about six weeks. The move comes over controversy surrounding the case of Adriana Smith, a pregnant woman from Lithonia. Her mother said she's brain-dead but is being kept on life support at Emory Midtown. The mother said they couldn't remove that life support because it would impact the baby's life, and Emory said it would violate Georgia's abortion law. Emory cannot comment on the case because of federal privacy laws, but did issue a statement which reads in part, 'Emory Healthcare uses consensus from clinical experts, medical literature, and legal guidance to support our providers as they make individualized treatment recommendations in compliance with Georgia's abortion law.' TRENDING STORIES: Tornado touches down in Henry County, 18-year-old critically injured 'Life doesn't feel real:' Family mourns GA 9-year-old found shot in car SWAT team, multiple DeKalb police units respond to barricaded suspect on Lavista Road Smith's mother initially supported an abortion but told Channel 2's Richard Elliot off-camera that she supports the child's birth. On Thursday, some Democratic state lawmakers demanded that Gov. Brian Kemp request a formal legal opinion from the Attorney General's office about the Life Act. 'We said this law is vague,' State Rep. Park Cannon said. The AG's office said last week that the Life Act doesn't apply in the Smith case, and in a statement, the governor's office said, 'Holding a partisan press conference does not change the fact that the attorney general's office has already answered this question in the clearest possible terms.' Still, Duluth Democrat Nabilah Islam-Parkes thinks an official opinion is needed. 'We are calling on the governor to do his job and request a formal opinion from the AG telling the people of Georgia what this law actually means,' Islam-Parkes said. Republican state Sen. Ed Setzler wrote the Life Act. In a statement, he said that his heart goes out to Smith and her family. He also condemned those Democrats, saying they were hurting Smith's family by dragging them through 'a sick political debate.'
The Guardian
24-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Dear America: women's bodies are not state property
A Black pregnant woman who was declared brain dead back in February is still being kept alive on a ventilator, because of a Georgia law that prohibits abortions beyond six weeks. If this sounds like the stuff of speculative fiction, it's because there's literally a Handmaid's Tale episode about this. And while the TV show based on Margaret Atwood's 1985 book may have gotten many things right about the soul of authoritarianism and a violently patriarchal society, living that reality is even more sickening. Anyone who thinks this is about the life of Adriana Smith's child is fooling themselves. This is the state, boundary testing to see how far they can take their efforts to have full reproductive control over American women, and gauging how much the American public is willing to tolerate. It is unclear whether Smith's baby will survive, and according to the family, Emory University Hospital is keeping her on life support because the hospital is afraid of contravening Georgia law. Meanwhile, state lawmakers and abortion rights opponents have put their hands up and don't want to be associated with the optics of this tragic mess. In a mid-May press release, the Georgia attorney general's office clarified that the state's anti-abortion law does not require Smith be kept alive. 'There is nothing in the Life Act that requires medical professionals to keep a woman on life support after brain death,' the statement reads. 'Removing life support is not an action 'with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy'.' So who is responsible for this? And are we to believe that Georgia lawmakers are powerless to stop this hospital's apparent misreading of the state's own rules? Even if the latter were the case, the damage from conservatives' anti-abortion crusades and the ensuing legislative crackdown has already been done. Hospitals such as Emory have no incentive to weigh the ethical implications of their actions because they have the spirit of the law to consider, regardless of how lawmakers try to play semantic tricks to get around their own culpability. When it comes to public opinion, some have argued in favor of this nightmare based on the fact that Smith is brain dead, and so keeping her alive doesn't actually 'harm' her. What's next? Women in comas being impregnated because … why not? Vulnerable women being lobotomized and used as incubators? Should the state be able to forcefully impregnate every woman whose body is capable of carrying a baby? Where does it stop? Meanwhile, all the conservative posturing over the sanctity of human life is easily dismantled when you consider the fact that banning abortions effectively issues a death sentence to any pregnant person who is at risk. And what about the issues that took Smith to the hospital to begin with? Her family says she went to see doctors at around eight weeks pregnant with intense headaches, and received medication the same day. The next day, she woke up gasping for air, and was rushed back to the hospital where doctors discovered blood clots in her brain. Smith was declared brain dead shortly after. Black women are the most likely to die during childbirth, are most likely to experience pregnancy-related complications and regularly see their issues dismissed and minimized when they seek help. Was Smith's life not valuable when she was here? Why is the body of a brain dead woman receiving more care than she did when she was alive? Stories like Smith's are also a grim reminder of how desperate society is right now to reduce women to their reproductive capacity. From draconian laws that force women to endure life threatening pregnancies, to the trad-wife and pronatalism renaissance, it's clear that women's ability or willingness to carry babies is the political and ethical lightning rod of our time, and the 'life' of a foetus has become a convenient tool to wield in the efforts to control women's bodies. But Black women have always known this. And Smith's story is deeply triggering for a demographic who has not only seen the worst of what childbearing in the US medical system is like, but also has a history of being used as test dummies for gynaecological experimentation. 'We didn't have a choice or a say about it,' Smith's mother, April Newkirk, said. 'We want the baby. That's a part of my daughter. But the decision should have been left to us – not the state.' It should go without saying that a person's agency should be respected whether they're conscious or not, but we've gotten so used to seeing women's bodies as a means to a political or economic end that ideas like this no longer register as what they are – utterly unconscionable. Tayo Bero is a Guardian US columnist
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Northern Trust Appointed as Asset Servicing Provider by Australian Insurer Generation Life
MELBOURNE, Australia, February 25, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) announced today that it was selected to provide global custody and valuation reporting services for Australian life insurance company Generation Life. With the new remit, Northern Trust will provide support to AU$1.5 billion (as of 31 January 2025) of Generation Life's portfolio assets, including domestic and international equities, bonds, FX, and SICAVs. Founded in 2007 and based in Melbourne, Generation Life specialises in providing tax effective investment solutions with over AU$3.8 billion in total funds under management (as of 31 December 2024). "Northern Trust's position as one of Australia's leading asset servicing providers allows us to dedicate resources and tailor capabilities to meet our clients' unique needs," said Leon Stavrou, Country Head of Australia, Northern Trust. "Our selection by Generation Life, a leader in their field, will help them achieve operational excellence, and we look forward to building a highly successful partnership." "In making the decision to partner with Northern Trust, we were impressed by the quality of their comprehensive services, which exceeded our expectations," said Felipe Araujo, Chief Executive Officer, Generation Life. "This is an important partnership for Generation Life. Northern Trust's focus on investment in digital technology strongly aligns with our objective to deliver a scalable operating model to support our growth ambitions and enhance the experience for our clients." About Generation Life Generation Life, a wholly owned subsidiary of Generation Development Group Limited (ASX:GDG), is a life insurance company registered under the Life Act. As the pioneer of Australia's first truly flexible investment bond, Generation Life has been at the forefront of providing innovative tax-effective investment solutions since 2004 and currently has over $3.8 billion in funds under management.* Generation Life is proud to be shaping the retirement income landscape with our LifeIncome product by applying our innovative approach to clients' retirement income needs and enabling Australians to focus on enjoying retirement with the confidence of an income guaranteed for life. Generation Life is regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority ('APRA') and as such is required to hold a minimum amount of capital, determined by APRA, to ensure any payment obligations to clients can be met. APRA is the same independent statutory authority that supervises banks in Australia. *As at 31 December 2024 About Northern Trust Northern Trust Corporation (Nasdaq: NTRS) is a leading provider of wealth management, asset servicing, asset management and banking to corporations, institutions, affluent families and individuals. Founded in Chicago in 1889, Northern Trust has a global presence with offices in 24 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., and across 22 locations in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. As of December 31, 2024, Northern Trust had assets under custody/administration of US$16.8 trillion, and assets under management of US$1.6 trillion. For more than 135 years, Northern Trust has earned distinction as an industry leader for exceptional service, financial expertise, integrity and innovation. Visit us on Follow us on Instagram @northerntrustcompany or Northern Trust on LinkedIn. Northern Trust Corporation, Head Office: 50 South La Salle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603 U.S.A., incorporated with limited liability in the U.S. Global legal and regulatory information can be found at View source version on Contacts Media Contacts Europe, Middle East, Africa & Asia-Pacific:Camilla Greene+44 (0) 20 7982 2176Camilla_Greene@ Simon Ansell+ 44 (0) 20 7982 1016sa777@ U.S. & Canada:John O'Connell+1 312 444 2388John_O'Connell@
