Adriana Smith is a pregnant woman from Georgia who was recently declared brain-dead. However, she is being kept on life support to continue with the pregnancy due to Georgia’s abortion ban law.
Smith’s mother, April Newkirk, shared that her daughter’s baby is growing and developing, and that the hospital she is staying at, Emory University Hospital Midtown, has plans to deliver the baby via C-section in August. Smith is currently 22 weeks pregnant.
Smith’s story made headlines, and it has been reported that she went to the hospital in February after experiencing severe headaches. She was given medication and sent home. The day after, she woke up unable to breathe. Upon returning to the hospital, she learned that she had numerous blood clots in her brain, and a few hours later, she was declared brain-dead while she was eight weeks pregnant.
According to Georgia’s law, abortions are banned at six weeks. Smith’s family stated that the hospital told them that they didn’t have a say on whether she was on life support because of her pregnancy. Newkirk said to reporters, “We didn’t have a choice or a say about it. We want the baby. That’s a part of my daughter. But the decision should have been left to us, not the state.”
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said that Georgia’s abortion ban does require hospitals to keep a “brain-dead person alive just because they’re pregnant,” according to reports. Carr’s spokesperson said, “Removing life support is not an action with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy.”
Although most Georgia Republicans have been quiet about this issue, State Senator Ed Setzler believes that the hospital is doing the right thing by Smith and her baby. “It is completely appropriate that the hospital do what they can to save the life of the child.” He continued, “I think this is an unusual circumstance, but I think it highlights the value of innocent human life. I think the hospital is acting appropriately.”
The family’s only hope is that the baby is born healthy. What are your thoughts on this situation?