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Adriana Smith, a brain-dead Atlanta woman kept alive under Georgia anti-abortion laws, gave birth on June 13 and will be taken off life support Tuesday, her family said.
Smith’s mother, April Newkirk, tells 11Alive that Chance, a baby boy, was born prematurely last week by emergency cesarean section. The infant weighs about 1 pound 13 ounces and is in the NICU.
“He’s expected to be OK,” Newkirk told the outlet. “He’s just fighting. We just want prayers for him. Just keep praying for him. He’s here now.”
But Chance’s arrival means the family must say goodbye to Smith, who celebrated her 31st birthday over the weekend. Newkirk said the family had a meeting with doctors and decided to take Smith off life support at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
Smith is a beloved registered nurse and also a mother to her 7-year-old son, who believes Smith has been sleeping this whole time.
Smith has been kept medically alive since February 19, when she was declared brain dead at eight weeks pregnant due to blood clots in her brain. Her family says doctors kept her on life support due to Georgia’s abortion law, the LIFE Act, which doesn’t clearly address cases of brain death, but causes confusion in medical environments. News of her condition made national headlines as she was kept on life-support while pregnant, and her family railed against the decision.
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Under Georgia’s 2019 “heartbeat law,” abortion is banned once a fetal heartbeat is detected, typically around six weeks, except in narrow cases such as medical emergencies. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has stated that the heartbeat law does not explicitly mandate life support for brain‑dead women, calling the situation legally unclear.
Legislators and advocacy groups remain divided. Some anti‑abortion leaders support the hospital’s choice to treat the fetus as a separate patient, citing the value of innocent life.
Others, including reproductive rights advocates, warn that personhood legislation may inadvertently strip families of medical decision‑making during tragedies, which is how Newkirk felt.
“I’m not saying we would have chosen to terminate her pregnancy. But I’m saying we should have had a choice,” she told 11Alive in a previous interview.
Newkirk felt the same way after Chance’s birth, telling the outlet on Monday, “I think all women should have a choice about their body. And I think I want people to know that.”
While the family was celebrating the birth of Chance, they also know they are saying goodbye to Smith at the same time.
“It’s kind of hard, you know,” Newkirk told 11Alive news. “It’s hard to process.”
Newkirk started a GoFundMe for Smith’s family. At the time of publication, more than 3,800 donors have contributed over $145,400 towards its $275,000 goal. She added she wished she could talk to Smith one more time to tell her she loved her and that she was a great daughter.
“I’m her mother,” she said. “I shouldn’t be burying my daughter. My daughter should be burying me.”
