Even in death, Adriana Smith isn’t free.

Friends,

Adriana Smith was a 30-year-old nurse and mother who suffered a catastrophic medical emergency, was declared brain-dead—and then denied the dignity of death.

Because she was nine weeks pregnant, the state of Georgia has forced her to stay on life support, overriding her family’s wishes.

Doctors are keeping her body functioning to deliver a fetus diagnosed with hydrocephalus—who may not survive, and if born, may never see, walk, or live without suffering.

This isn’t medicine. It’s state-enforced captivity, imposed by a law that sees women as vessels, not human beings.

And it’s not just happening in Georgia.

In California, a woman suffering a miscarriage was denied life-saving care because the hospital’s “faith-based” policies came before her right to live. 

She was in a so-called sanctuary state—but her rights still ended at the doors of private power.

We are not facing a legal debate. We are living through a human rights crisis.

Black women have known this for generations. 

The United States has always been deadly for Black mothers—but post-Roe, the crisis has only deepened. 

Black maternal mortality is rising. Abortion access is collapsing. And the politicians responsible are still trying to spin this as a “middle ground.”

Let’s be clear: Democrats had the White House, the House, and the Senate when Roe was overturned. And they still couldn’t—or wouldn’t—guarantee reproductive freedom in this country.

Because they don’t fight for us. They triangulate. They compromise. 

They treat bodily autonomy as a bargaining chip and election ad fodder in some consultant-approved war room.

Even with abortion rights enshrined in its constitution, California—under a Democratic supermajority—still leaves 40% of its counties without providers, forcing especially Black and Brown residents to travel over 100 miles for essential care.

If you’re tired of the speeches, the hashtags, the photo ops at clinics while the right to choose vanishes beneath our feet—then let’s build something new.

Let’s build power that doesn’t wait for permission to protect our people.

If you believe California needs a governor who won’t trade away women’s lives for political safety, chip in now and help us grow this movement.

Adriana’s mother said, “I see my daughter breathing, but she’s not there.” 

That is the sound of a system that has lost its soul. Let’s tear it down—and build one rooted in justice.

Peace and Power,

Butch Ware