A family has spoken out after their pregnant daughter was kept on life support despite being declared brain-dead.
A consequence of restrictive abortion laws that continue to stir national debate over medical ethics, reproductive rights, and legal guardianship in healthcare.
Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old nurse and mother from Atlanta, was nine weeks pregnant when she began experiencing intense headaches in early February.
Seeking medical attention, she was reportedly sent home with just medication — no diagnostic testing, no imaging scans.
“They gave her some medication, but they didn’t do any tests. No CT scan,” her mother, April Newkirk, told 11Alive.
“If they had done that or kept her overnight, they would have caught it. It could have been prevented.”
The next morning, her boyfriend found her gasping for air and making gurgling noises in her sleep — symptoms her family now believes were signs of intracranial hemorrhage or neurological trauma.
