Doctors there discovered extensive blood clots in her brain.
“They did a CAT scan and she had blood clots in her head. They asked if they could do a procedure to relieve them, and I said yes. Then they called me back and said they couldn’t do it,” said Newkirk said.
Shortly afterward, Adriana was declared brain-dead.
Despite her condition, Georgia’s “heartbeat” abortion law requires that she remain on life support to carry the foetus, now around 22 weeks, to term.
The law which was signed by governor Brian Kemp in 2019, bans abortion after a heartbeat is detected, typically around six weeks and well before many women even realise they are pregnant.
While the law includes limited exceptions for rape, incest and medical emergencies, it does not explicitly address scenarios where the mother is already legally brain-dead.
“It’s torture for me. I come here and I see my daughter breathing on the ventilator. She’s not there, and I’m touching her,” said Newkirk.
Newkirk said she continues to bring Adriana’s young son to visit her.
Newkirk voiced concern about the baby’s future health, as doctors warn that the foetus may suffer severe complications due to Adriana's condition and the lack of oxygen during the trauma.
“She’s pregnant with my grandson, but my grandson may be blind, may not be able to walk, may be wheelchair bound. We don’t know if he’ll live once she has him,” she said.
For Newkirk, the most heartbreaking part is not just her daughter's condition but the loss of agency over Adriana’s care.
“It should have been left up to the family. I’m in my 50s. Her dad is in his 50s. We’re going to have the responsibility with her partner to raise her sons,” she said. “I’m not saying that we would have chosen to terminate her pregnancy. What I’m saying is we should have had a choice,” she said.
Georgia is one of several states that enacted restrictive abortion bans after the US Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn Roe v Wade.
The state has at least 11 abortion providers, according to the National Abortion Federation. Similar “heartbeat bills” have been passed in Mississippi, Kentucky, and Ohio.
This case has ignited renewed debate over abortion rights, patient autonomy and how states interpret medical decisions in cases involving brain death and pregnancy. Advocates warn that laws like Georgia's fail to account for the complexities of real-life medical crises.
Family powerless as brain-dead pregnant woman is kept alive
Mother was nine weeks when she began having severe headaches
Journalist
Image: 123RF/peopleimages12
A 30-year-old woman declared brain-dead in Georgia is being kept on life support against her family’s wishes because she is pregnant.
This complex and painful situation is because of one of the strictest abortion laws in the US.
Adriana Smith was nine weeks pregnant when she began experiencing severe headaches in February.
According to her mother, April Newkirk, Smith sought medical help at a hospital but was allegedly sent home with medication and no further testing.
“They gave us some medication. But they didn’t do any tests. Didn’t do any CAT scans. If they did, they would have caught it,” Newkirk told NBC News.
The next morning, Adriana’s boyfriend realised something was terribly wrong as she was gasping for air and appeared to be choking, likely on blood. She was rushed to Emory Decatur Hospital and later transferred to the facility where she worked as a registered nurse.
Perinatal death rate in Eastern Cape ‘deeply alarming’
Doctors there discovered extensive blood clots in her brain.
“They did a CAT scan and she had blood clots in her head. They asked if they could do a procedure to relieve them, and I said yes. Then they called me back and said they couldn’t do it,” said Newkirk said.
Shortly afterward, Adriana was declared brain-dead.
Despite her condition, Georgia’s “heartbeat” abortion law requires that she remain on life support to carry the foetus, now around 22 weeks, to term.
The law which was signed by governor Brian Kemp in 2019, bans abortion after a heartbeat is detected, typically around six weeks and well before many women even realise they are pregnant.
While the law includes limited exceptions for rape, incest and medical emergencies, it does not explicitly address scenarios where the mother is already legally brain-dead.
“It’s torture for me. I come here and I see my daughter breathing on the ventilator. She’s not there, and I’m touching her,” said Newkirk.
Newkirk said she continues to bring Adriana’s young son to visit her.
Newkirk voiced concern about the baby’s future health, as doctors warn that the foetus may suffer severe complications due to Adriana's condition and the lack of oxygen during the trauma.
“She’s pregnant with my grandson, but my grandson may be blind, may not be able to walk, may be wheelchair bound. We don’t know if he’ll live once she has him,” she said.
For Newkirk, the most heartbreaking part is not just her daughter's condition but the loss of agency over Adriana’s care.
“It should have been left up to the family. I’m in my 50s. Her dad is in his 50s. We’re going to have the responsibility with her partner to raise her sons,” she said. “I’m not saying that we would have chosen to terminate her pregnancy. What I’m saying is we should have had a choice,” she said.
Georgia is one of several states that enacted restrictive abortion bans after the US Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn Roe v Wade.
The state has at least 11 abortion providers, according to the National Abortion Federation. Similar “heartbeat bills” have been passed in Mississippi, Kentucky, and Ohio.
This case has ignited renewed debate over abortion rights, patient autonomy and how states interpret medical decisions in cases involving brain death and pregnancy. Advocates warn that laws like Georgia's fail to account for the complexities of real-life medical crises.
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