A 30-year-old Atlanta nurse declared brain dead more than three months ago is being kept on life support against her family’s wishes due to Georgia’s restrictive abortion law.
Adriana Smith suffered a massive stroke when she was nine weeks pregnant, and despite her irreversible condition, doctors say they are legally required to sustain her bodily functions until the fetus is viable.
Georgia prohibits most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, typically the point at which fetal cardiac activity can be detected. The law, enacted in 2019 but enforced only after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, permits exceptions in cases of rape, incest (with a police report), or serious medical emergencies.
Smith’s case does not qualify under any of those exceptions. “This is torture,” said her mother, April Newkirk. “We know the baby may not survive or could have serious disabilities, but the law won’t let us make any decisions. It was heartbreaking to see my grandson believe that his mother is just sleeping.”
The family says they’ve been left powerless by a system that prioritizes the fetus’s development over the autonomy of a woman who is, by all medical standards, deceased.
Though a lower court found Georgia’s six-week abortion ban unconstitutional in 2024, the state Supreme Court later reinstated the statute pending ongoing litigation. As of now, the law remains in effect.
Under Georgia code, a “medical emergency” refers specifically to situations where an abortion is necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant patient or to avert substantial and irreversible physical impairment. Legal experts say Smith’s condition, while irreversible, does not present a qualifying risk, meaning doctors must legally maintain her bodily functions through machines until the fetus can potentially survive outside the womb.
“I think every woman should have the right to decide for herself,” Newkirk said. “And if she can’t, then her partner or her parents should be allowed to decide.”
