The family of a U.S. nurse declared brain-dead says they are being forced to keep her alive because she is pregnant.
Adriana Smith, 30, is currently on life support at a Georgia hospital after being declared brain-dead in February.
The nurse is being kept alive due to Georgia’s ‘heartbeat law’ that bans most abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, typically around six weeks into pregnancy.
Highlights
- Adriana Smith, a brain-dead nurse in Georgia, is forced to stay on life support due to the state's strict abortion 'heartbeat law.'
- Smith was nine weeks pregnant when multiple blood clots led to brain death.
- Her mother describes the situation as 'torture' and demands the right to make healthcare decisions on Smith’s behalf.
Smith had been suffering from headaches before she was declared brain-dead
Image credits: 11Alive
Smith was nine weeks pregnant when she began to suffer from intense headaches, so she sought medical advice.
“They gave her some medication, but they didn’t do any tests. Didn’t do any CT scan,” her mother, April Newkirk, told Atlanta TV station 11Alive.
“If they did, they would have caught it.”
Smith was sent home, but while she slept, her partner realized something was wrong.
“She was gasping for air in her sleep, gargling,” Newkirk said. “More than likely it was blood.”
Image credits: 11Alive
Smith was taken to Emory Decatur Hospital and then transferred to Emory University Hospital, where she worked as a nurse.
“They did a CT scan and she had blood clots all in her head,” Newkirk told 11Alive. “So they had to ask me if they could do a procedure to relieve them.
“I said yes, and then they called me back and said they couldn’t do it.”
It was too late to carry out the procedure, and Smith was declared brain-dead, but her family was informed doctors would need to keep her alive due to the state’s abortion laws.
Although the law allows exceptions when the mother’s life is in danger, officials determined that Smith was no longer at risk because she had been declared brain-dead.
Image credits: Facebook
She has been on life support for more than 90 days, and at 21 weeks pregnant, it’s likely she’ll be kept alive for months so that she can carry the baby to term.
Doctors are hoping to wait until at least 32 weeks before inducing her, so that the baby has a better chance of surviving outside the womb, her family said.
Newkirk said she brings Smith’s other son to visit her, but he believes she’s just sleeping.
“It’s torture for me, I come here and I see my daughter breathing by a ventilator, but she’s not there,” she said.
“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 him.”
The family wants the right to make choices for Smith
While the family doesn’t know if they would have chosen to end the pregnancy, they do know they wanted the right to make that choice.
“It should have been left up to the family,” Newkirk said. “We’re going to have the responsibility with her partner to raise her sons.”
“I’m not saying that we would have chosen to terminate her pregnancy; what I’m saying is, we should have had a choice.”
Doctors have transferred Smith to Emory Midtown, citing its more advanced obstetric care. But as she remains on life support, the medical bills continue to rack up.
Image credits: BlkMamasMatter
“Every day that goes by, it’s more cost, more trauma, more questions,” Newkirk said.
The Black Mamas Matter Alliance—an organization focused on advancing maternal health, rights, and justice among Black mothers—says it stands with the family.
“Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old Black nurse and mother, was declared brain dead over 90 days ago. GA law is keeping her on life support only because she was pregnant,” the alliance posted on X.
“This is a violation of autonomy. We stand with her family in demanding dignity and justice.”
Under Georgia’s heartbeat law, there are exceptions for cases of rape or incest—if a police report is filed—as well as exceptions if the fetus has a condition that makes it unlikely that the baby would survive after birth.
The law was passed in 2019 and enforced in 2022 when Roe v. Wade was overturned.