A devastated mother has shared her family’s ongoing ordeal as her pregnant daughter, who has suffered brain damage, is being kept alive against their wishes due to a restrictive abortion law.
Adriana Smith, a nurse and mother from Atlanta, began experiencing severe headaches in February this year. At the time, she was nine weeks pregnant and sought medical help, but was reportedly sent home with medication.
The following morning, her boyfriend discovered her making unusual noises and struggling to breathe. He rushed her to the hospital, where a CT scan revealed multiple blood clots in her brain.
Sadly, it was too late to save Adriana’s life, and she was declared brain dead by doctors.
The situation has since become more distressing as Adriana remains on life support for three agonizing months due to Georgia’s ‘heartbeat bill’, which prohibits terminating a pregnancy after six weeks.
This law, enacted after the 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade, only allows abortions under certain conditions, such as a medical emergency or if the pregnancy is deemed medically futile.
Adriana’s mother, April Newkirk, expressed to 11Alive the torment her family is experiencing, as her daughter’s situation falls into a legal gray area.
Medical staff have stated that since Adriana is not considered at risk, they must legally sustain her life until the fetus is viable.
“She’s been breathing through machines for more than 90 days,” April explained. “It’s torture for me. I see my daughter breathing, on a ventilator but she’s not there. And I’m touching her.
“And her son — I bring him to see her.”
April shared the additional heartbreak of her grandson believing his mother is merely ‘sleeping’.
“I think every woman should have the right to make their own decision,” April stated. “And if not, then their partner or their parents.”
Though she’s uncertain whether they would have chosen to terminate the pregnancy, the lack of options exacerbates their pain, compounded by accumulating medical costs.
“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 told the news outlet. “It should have been left up to the family because, I’m in my fifties, her dad is in his fifties, so we’re gonna 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.”
Doctors intend to sustain Adriana’s life until the pregnancy reaches 32 weeks, at which point they plan to induce labor.