Back in February of this year, Adriana Smith – a 30-year-old nurse from Georgia – was experiencing severe headaches. She previous sought treatment at Northside Hospital the night before, but was ultimately released after being administered medication with no CT scans or other testing having been done. Smith – who should have been laid to rest several months ago, and a mother of a 7-year-old boy – was found with blood clots on her brain when she was admitted to one of the hospitals in the Emory University Hospital systems in Atlanta, Georgia after her boyfriend woke up to her gasping for air in her sleep and making gurgling noises – having some sort of medical emergency. She had also worked there at Emory as an RN.
[Left] Adriana Smith pictured with her 7 y/o son. [Right] | April Newkirk/gofundme
Against her family’s wishes, she has been kept on life support for more than 90 days now. Why? She was 9 weeks pregnant at the time the doctors declared her brain-dead on February 19th. Usually, when a pregnant person is being kept on life support, it’s usually when the pregnancy is past the 20 week mark, according to Dr. Arthur Caplan.
Emory’s plan, in accordance with Georgia law, is to keep Smith alive until the baby boy can safely survive on his own – most likely at 32 weeks – via cesarean section, which is scheduled for early August. While Smith is on life-support devices, being declared brain dead means she is dead. Currently at 22 weeks as of May 29th, 2025, Emory has not made public what is being done to allow Smith’s fetus to continue to develop. It is not clear whether Smith, whose mother said she was a nurse at Emory University Hospital, had health insurance.
Family’s Response
April Newkirk, Smith’s mother | @NBCNews on Youtube.
“They gave her some medication, but they didn’t do any tests, didn’t do any CT scans. If they did, they would have caught it. She was gasping for air – more than likely it was blood. She was taken to Emory, Decatur, and then she was transferred here [to Emory University Hospital, where Adriana worked as an RN]. I come here and I see my daughter breathing by the ventilator, but she’s not there, and I’m touching her. She has a son. She’s pregnant with my grandson, but my grandson may be blind, may not be able to walk, wheelchair bound. We don’t know if he’ll live once she has them. It should have been left up to the family, because I’m in my 50s. her dad is in his 50s, so we’re gonna have the responsibility with her partner to raise her sons, you know, and I’m not saying that we would have chose to terminate her pregnancy. What I’m saying is we should have had a choice. We should have had a choice.” – via @NBCNews, Transcript on YouTube.
The family has named the baby Chance “because to me he’s getting a second chance.” Newkirk explained. Newkirk also mentioned how doctors informed the family they are legally not allowed to consider any other options. “I’m not saying that we would have chose to terminate her pregnancy, but what I’m saying is, we should have had a choice.” she said. Newkirk said that the family is also having to deal with the financial responsibility of keeping Smith on life support.
“She’s not there, but the baby’s there.” – April Newkirk | 11Alive Youtube.
“But she’s not there. She’s not there. But the baby’s there. We – wanted to know if she was to abort, would she have a chance at her life. And they said there was no chance or no. So at that point, we continued with the pregnancy that we didn’t have a choice or say about. And, and, and, and I just wanna be clear on something. We want her to have her baby. We want her life to continue throughout her children, but at the same time, to see her laid like that, for that length of time… the grieving process for us – it can’t even start. Because every time we go, we grieve and we hurt. And it, it, it’s just – it’s just unreal. It’s unreal for anyone to go through this. The baby is the right weight, a little bit over, which is a good sign. He has his legs, his toes, his limbs. Heartbeat is good and strong. It’s just maybe because of the loss of consciousness with my daughter, the lack of oxygen that the baby didn’t get. So that’s where the cerebellum comes into place. Baby Chance’s future is still uncertain, so the journey is for Baby Chance to survive. And, and whatever condition God allows him to come here, we’re gonna love him just the same, and we’re gonna embrace him.” – via @11Alive, Transcript on Youtube.
Adriana Smith’s GoFundMe page as of June 3, 2025 with $133,165 raised.
A GoFundMe set up by Smith’s mother going more in depth on the struggles the family has been going through the past three months, and asks for prayers and community support during what the family calls “a nightmare no one should have to endure.”
Newkirk also revealed that the baby boy has hydrocephalus, or fluid on the brain. Even if he survives the pregnancy, he’s more likely to be born with severe disabilities. Removing Smith from life support until that time, health officials reportedly believe, would violate Georgia’s strict anti-abortion laws which prohibit termination once a foetal heartbeat is detected usually at around six weeks. The state’s controversial law, the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act, does contain an exception to save the life of the mother. However, that doesn’t apply to Adriana Smith’s case, as her life is unfortunately far from saving.
Statements
A spokesperson for Emory Healthcare said it “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 laws and all other applicable laws. Our top priorities continue to be the safety and wellbeing of the patients we serve.”
“It is deadly to be Black and pregnant in a state where reproductive care is limited and criminalized. Nearly half of Georgia’s counties are reproductive care deserts, all while looming Medicaid cuts threaten to worsen access to care. Adriana Smith is a mother, daughter, and nurse who deserves a healthy pregnancy. Like so many Black women, Adriana spoke up for herself. She expressed what she felt in her body, and as a health care provider, she knew how to navigate the medical system. She was declared brain dead after doctors found multiple blood clots, but by then, it was already too late. Because of Adriana’s pregnancy and Georgia’s abortion ban, her family was told that doctors must keep Adriana on life support until the fetus is viable outside of the womb. First, Adriana deserves to be trusted by her healthcare professionals. Second, her family deserves the right to have decision-making power about her medical decisions. Instead, they have endured 90 days of retraumatization, expensive medical costs, and the cruelty of being unable to resolve and move toward healing.
Black women must be trusted when it comes to our health care decisions. Our safety and our lives are sacrificed when essential care is out of reach, criminalized, and our bodies are left in the hands of extremist legislators. We’ve sounded the alarm for years. Yet, after the devastating and preventable deaths of multiple Black women, the message still rings clear: our lives are on the line, and our human right to bodily autonomy has been violated. Our bodies are not battlegrounds for political power plays. At SisterSong, we remain resolved in our fight for Reproductive Justice so no family has to go through this pain. Our hearts are with Adriana Smith’s family as they grieve this unimaginable loss.” – SisterSong’s Statement on Adriana Smith, May 15, 2025.
“There is nothing in the LIFE Act that requires medical professionals to keep a woman on life support after brain death. Removing life support is not an action with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy.” – The office of the Georgia Attorney General issued a statement.
“While Adriana can no longer speak for herself, her son’s life still matters. Her doctors are doing the right thing by treating him as a unique patient.” – Students for Life of America, a national anti-abortion group, who has shockingly launched a campaign to raise money to help Adriana’s family.
“It’s completely appropriate that the hospital do what they can to save the life of the child […] 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.” – Georgia state Senator Ed Setzler, who sponsored the 2019 bill.
What are your thoughts?
While it’s unclear whether the baby boy will face health problems when he’s finally delivered, what we do know is that his life has already been surrounded by heartbreak, tough decisions, and a situation no family should ever have to face. After becoming familiar with the story, what will you do to help? How will you advocate for individuals who are facing similar challenges? Will you start fighting for reproductive rights – maybe even alongside SisterSong? I offer my sincere sympathy to Adriana Smith’s family as they navigate this unimaginable loss. My heart goes out to them in their time of grief. Tune in for more articles.
![[Left] Adriana Smith next to her seven-year-old son. [Right] | Image source: April Newkirk/gofundme | Thumbnail edited on Canva.](https://dmhsherald.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/HH-Thumnail-100.png)
