Pregnant woman declared brain dead kept alive by abortion law until baby is born. Doctors say they have no choice
A pregnant woman in Georgia has been kept on life support for over three months in order to carry her baby to term, a decision tied directly to the state’s strict abortion laws.
Georgia’s Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act—often referred to as the “Heartbeat Bill”—was signed into law in 2019 and mostly passed along party lines. The legislation bans most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, around six weeks. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Georgia’s law was enforced, joining a wave of similar measures adopted in conservative states, despite ongoing protests from pro-abortion rights advocates.
Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old nurse and mother from Atlanta, was just under nine weeks pregnant in early February when doctors discovered she had blood clots in her brain, according to reporting by WXIA-TV. Around that time, she began suffering from severe headaches. Her mother, April Newkirk, said Adriana initially sought medical care at Northside Hospital, where she was given medication but discharged shortly after.
“They gave her some medication, but they didn’t do any tests. No CT scan,” April Newkirk, Smith’s mother, told 11Alive. “If they had done that or kept her overnight, they would have caught it. It could have been prevented.”
The next morning, Smith reportedly began gasping for breath in her sleep, making noises that her boyfriend described as gargling. He called emergency services, and she was rushed to Emory Decatur before being transferred to Emory University Hospital, where she worked as a nurse.
“They asked me if I would agree to a procedure to relieve the pressure, and I said yes,” Newkirk said. “Then they called me back and said they couldn’t do it.”
Smith was declared brain dead soon after. More than 90 days have passed, and she remains on life support. She was moved to Emory Midtown due to the hospital’s expertise in obstetrics. However, her family believes that politics—not just medical protocol—is influencing her prolonged life support.
Doctors are reportedly aiming to wait until the fetus reaches 32 weeks gestation. Smith is currently at 21 weeks. According to her family, medical staff informed them that under Georgia’s heartbeat law, they are legally obligated to keep Smith on life support until the fetus reaches a viable age.
Newkirk told WXIA-TV the situation has left the family emotionally wrecked—not only due to her daughter’s condition but also because of the uncertainty surrounding her unborn grandson’s health. Doctors have indicated that the baby boy may have fluid on his brain, but it remains unclear to what extent.
“She’s pregnant with my grandson,” Newkirk said. “But he may be blind, may not be able to walk, may not survive once he’s born.”
“This decision should’ve been left to us. Now we’re left wondering what kind of life he’ll have—and we’re going to be the ones raising him.”
Governor Brian Kemp after signing the law in 2019: “We will not back down. We will always continue to fight for life.”
Kwajelyn Jackson, executive director of Feminist Women’s Health Center, in 2024 after the Georgia Supreme Court ruling: “This ban has wreaked havoc on Georgians’ lives, and our patients deserve better. The state of Georgia has chosen to subject our community to those devastating harms once again, even in light of the deadly consequences we have already witnessed.”
Last year, Georgia’s top court reinstated the six-week abortion restriction, pausing a previous trial court’s decision that would have struck the law down. Then in February of this year, the Georgia Supreme Court vacated that lower court’s ruling—potentially forcing abortion rights advocates to restart their legal efforts from the beginning.
