Georgia Woman Declared Brain Dead Gives Birth to Premature Baby Amid Legal and Ethical Controversy

Adriana Smith, 31

A Georgia woman who was declared brain dead in February has given birth to a premature baby via emergency cesarean section, according to her family. Adriana Smith, 31, was about six months pregnant when her baby, named Chance, was delivered early Friday morning at an Atlanta hospital.

The newborn, weighing 1 pound and 13 ounces, is currently receiving care in the neonatal intensive care unit. “He’s expected to be okay,” said April Newkirk, Smith’s mother. “He’s just fighting. We just want prayers for him.”

Smith first experienced severe headaches over four months ago and sought medical attention at Northside Hospital in Atlanta. After receiving treatment and being discharged, she collapsed the following morning. Her boyfriend found her gasping for air and called 911. Doctors at Emory University Hospital later determined that Smith had blood clots in her brain and declared her brain dead. At the time, she was approximately eight weeks pregnant.

Smith's family stated that Emory physicians told them they could not legally remove life-sustaining equipment because Georgia law prohibits abortion after the detection of fetal cardiac activity, typically around six weeks of gestation.

However, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr issued a clarification, stating that the state’s abortion ban does not require medical professionals to maintain life support for a brain-dead pregnant woman. “Removing life support is not an action ‘with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy,’” Carr said.

Despite the legal ambiguity, the hospital maintained Smith on life support until the baby could be delivered. She was scheduled to be removed from life support on Tuesday, her family confirmed.

Smith, a nurse at Emory and mother of a 7-year-old son, was remembered by her loved ones and advocacy groups during a birthday memorial on Sunday. Her mother, who attended the gathering but did not speak publicly, expressed her grief, saying, “I’m her mother. I shouldn’t be burying my daughter. My daughter should be burying me.”

The case has drawn attention to the ethical, medical, and legal complexities surrounding pregnancy in cases of brain death, as well as the interpretation of abortion restrictions in emergency and end-of-life scenarios.