A mother in Georgia has shared that her pregnant daughter, Adriana Smith, who was declared brain-dead, is being kept on a ventilator because of the state’s law banning abortions. The mother, April Newkirk, says her daughter, Adriana Smith, 30, began to suffer from extreme headaches in February. At that time, she was 9 weeks pregnant with her second child. Newkirk says her daughter was written a prescription at North Side Hospital and sent home.
Adriana Smith Rushed To Hospital
Newkirk says the hospital didn’t run any tests or do any type of scans. The day after being seen at the hospital, Adriana Smith’s boyfriend was awakened by her gasping for air and making gurgling noises. Smith was taken to Emory Decatur Hospital and shortly after transferred to Emory University Hospital. A CT scan was done, which showed that Smith had several blood clots in her brain.
Smith was soon after declared brain-dead and has been on a machine that breathes for over 90 days now. “It’s torture for me,” Newkirk said. “I see my daughter breathing, but she’s not there.” Reportedly, the hospital plans to keep Smith alive until her unborn son can survive on his own at 32 weeks.
Georgia’s LIFE Act
In 2019, the LIFE Act was signed by Gov. Brian Kemp (R), but the act did not go into effect until 2022 due to legal challenges as well as Roe v. Wade being reversed by the Supreme Court. The LIFE Act made abortions illegal in Georgia after the sixth week of pregnancy. The only exceptions made were the mother’s health, rape, incest, and if abnormalities are found in the unborn baby. Authorities must document cases of rape or incest.
Adriana Smith’s mother says that her daughter is now 21 weeks pregnant. “It should have been left up to the family,” Newkirk said. She said doctors informed her that they are legally not allowed to consider any other option.
Family No Rights Due To Abortion Ban
“I’m not saying that we would have chosen to terminate her pregnancy, but what I’m saying is, we should have had a choice,” she said. An Emory Hospital spokesperson said it “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.”
SisterSong Speaks Out
The executive director of the organization SisterSong, Monica Simpson, says that the first problem with Adriana Smith’s case is that she did not receive proper medical care when she went to the hospital for her headaches.
The second issue with her case, Simpson says, is the family’s situation and the “gray areas” that surround Georgia’s abortion ban. The abortion ban has created “this type of uncertainty for medical care providers; it creates this type of uncertainty for folks who are coming up against it,” Simpson said.
“It’s not black and white,” she added. “There are, unfortunately, these gray areas that our elected officials, our state, and our governor did not take into consideration when moving this ban into play. What we’ve seen … is that there are gray areas, and that’s where the danger comes in.” The Newkirk family is also being held responsible for all of the medical expenses connected to Adriana Smith being kept on life support.
