- June 18, 2025
A brain-dead Georgia woman is set to be taken off of life support after her baby was delivered
Adriana Smith, a 30 year old mother of a seven year old boy, was kept on life support against her family’s wishes after she was declared brain dead back in February. The reason? She was eight weeks pregnant.
Smith, a nurse from Georgia, went to the hospital for help with a severe headache and was sent home with medication. A few hours later, she was unresponsive from a medical emergency linked to blood clots in her brain and was declared brain dead.
“I’m not saying we would have chosen to terminate her pregnancy. But I’m saying we should have had a choice,” Newkirk, Smith’s mother, said in a previous interview with 11Alive. She says that the law denied their family from the right to make medical decisions for their loved one.
She maintained that same sentiment Monday after sharing her grandson was born.
“I think all women should have a choice about their body. And I think I want people to know that,” she said.
Doctors had aimed to deliver the baby at 32 weeks, but had to perform an emergency C-section on Friday.
According to the family, Smith’s 7 year old son believes his mom has been sleeping this entire time. Newkirk said the family will share with him at a later date that he now has a little brother.
There has been national outcry for this case, with some people comparing the situation as using Smith as an incubator, and others saying that it was the right thing to do. Some also claim that this was a racially motivated case, where a black woman was used as a medical experiment, to see how far they would be able to go. For this claim, it is important to note that black women have a long history of being used against their will for medical research.
This case sets a very worrying precedent for pregnant women, and women’s reproductive rights as a whole. Smith was eight weeks pregnant, and was forcibly kept on life support for nearly four months.
Since the baby was delivered, Adriana Smith will finally be allowed her rest. She is set to be taken off life support soon.