Georgia: Pregnant woman kept on life support for months despite being declared ‘brain dead’

A 30-year-old pregnant woman in the southeastern United States’ state of Georgia has been kept on life support for over three months now despite being declared brain dead. The woman’s mother is arguing that due to the state’s abortion restrictions under the ‘heartbeat law’, her daughter is being kept alive against their will.  

The incident has gained widespread attention with leaders from across the world taking to social media to express their disbelief over the tragedy. 

Talking about the incident, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley said, “Horrifying. Devastating. Unacceptable.” 

Adriana Smith should be here with her 5-year-old son. Her severe headaches were dismissed and at 9 weeks pregnant she was declared brain dead, the result of blood clots.

Her family visits her constantly. Her son asks when she’ll wake up.

Emory hospital says the Georgia abortion… pic.twitter.com/ocEQcGV9yv

— Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (@RepPressley) May 16, 2025

People on social media are slamming the country saying that Smith is a black woman who is being forced to keep her body alive so that she can serve as an incubator to a child that may not survive outside of the womb.  

Adriana Smith is a black woman who is being forced to keep her body alive so that she can serve as an incubator to a child that may not survive outside of the womb. Her family has no say in the matter. She is 100% dead. How is this prolife?https://t.co/ieTdkWDIcL pic.twitter.com/ausPVs5o2K

— microplastic collector (@ceceett) May 16, 2025

“She is 100% dead. How is this prolife?” questioned one user on X. 

Adrianna Smith was 9 week pregnant 

Adriana Smith who was a registered nurse at Emory University Hospital was reportedly nine weeks pregnant during early February this year when she began having intense headaches. Her mother, April Newkirk, said that Smith sought treatment at Northside Hospital but was later released after being provided medication.  

“They gave her some medication, but they didn’t so any tests, they didn’t do any CT scans. If they did, they would have caught it the next morning,” she said.  

The grieving mother said that Adriana’s boyfriend noticed something was terribly wrong the very next morning as she was gasping for air in her sleep and more than likely it was blood inside her throat which made her gargle and choke for air. The boyfriend immediately called 911 and the woman was rushed to Emory Decatur and later transferred to Emory University Hospital where she worked.  

The hospital staff did a CT scan which revealed several blood clots in her brain. The mother said that the staff asked her if she would agree to a procedure to relieve the pressure and she said yes and after some time she got a call from the hospital saying that they could not do it.  

Family blames state abortion law 

Smith was declared brain dead by the hospital and her family has been by her side every day since the past 90 days including her young son, who believes his mother is normally sleeping.  

“I feel like someone dropped the ball at the hospital. Her boyfriend asked them to keep her, but due to Georgia's heartbeat bill, which bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, it didn't work out,” said the crying mother. She said that they were not given any say in what happens next and it is torture for her to see her daughter breathing through a ventilator, but she is not there, and she cannot feel even her son’s touch.  

She continued to say, “She has a son who I bring to see her,” and added that her daughter is now 21 weeks pregnant and her baby’s health is uncertain."  

“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,” she claimed. 

Mother says they had no choice  

April said that this is a situation which no one should be forced into and it should have been left up to the family to decide because she is in her 50s and her father is in 50s and they are going to have the responsibility with her partner to raise her sons.  

“And I'm not saying that we would have chosen to terminate her pregnancy. What I'm saying is, we should have had a choice. We should have had a choice,” said the mother.  

Reportedly, the plan now is to keep Smith alive until doctors believe the baby can survive outside the womb, most likely at 32 weeks' gestation. Regardless of the family’s wishes, doctors are needed to maintain support until the fetus can survive on its own because of the Georgian laws.