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In February, a pregnant woman in Georgia was rushed to a hospital after experiencing intense headaches. There, a CT scan showed blood clots in Adriana Smith’s brain, and the 30-year-old nurse was soon declared brain-dead, NBC affiliate WXIA-TV reported.
Three months later, her mother says Smith is being kept alive with ventilators due to the state’s strict abortion law.
“It’s torture for me,” April Newkirk told the Atlanta TV station. “I come here and I see my daughter breathing, by the ventilator, but she’s not there.”
The state’s near-total abortion ban, called the LIFE Act, went into effect in 2022 after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, doing away with the constitutional right to an abortion. Under the Georgia law, abortions in the state are illegal after cardiac activity can be detected, usually around the sixth week of pregnancy.
At the time of her hospitalization, Smith was nine weeks pregnant with her second child. Newkirk says her daughter is currently 21 weeks pregnant. The family says doctors at Emory University Hospital have said that they are not legally allowed to consider any options.
“It should have been left up to the family,” Newkirk said, adding: “I’m not saying that we would have chose to terminate her pregnancy, but [what] I’m saying is: We should have had a choice.”
A spokesperson for Emory Healthcare told NBC News that the health care system “uses consensus from clinical experts, medical literature, and legal guidance to support our providers as they make individualized treatment recommendations in compliance with Georgia’s abortion laws and all other applicable laws.”
“Our top priorities continue to be the safety and wellbeing of the patients we serve,” the spokesperson added.
According to the local NBC affiliate, the plan is to keep Smith alive until the point that doctors think her baby can survive outside the womb, likely around 32 weeks.
Georgia’s abortion law does include limited exceptions, such as in situations involving rape or incest or to protect the mother’s life. But because Smith is brain-dead, doctors do not have to take her health into account.
Georgia state Sen. Ed Setzler, a Republican who sponsored the law, told The Associated Press that the hospital was making the right decision.
“I think it is completely appropriate that the hospital do what they can to save the life of the child,” he said. “I think this is an unusual circumstance, but I think it highlights the value of innocent human life. I think the hospital is acting appropriately.” He added that the family members have “good choices” in how they can move forward, such as adoption or keeping the child.
But Smith’s mother told WXIA that doctors were concerned after discovering fluid on the baby’s brain.
I see my daughter breathing, by the ventilator, but she’s not there.
april newkirk, adriana smith's mother
“She’s pregnant with my grandson. But my grandson may be blind, may not be able to walk ... we don’t know if he’ll live once she has him,” Newkirk said.
Along with the emotional toll, Smith’s relatives are dealing with the financial burden of keeping their daughter on life support. With weeks to go until possible viability, the bills will continue to add up.
“Every day that goes by, it’s more cost, more trauma, more questions,” Newkirk told WXIA.