Doctors prepared for surgery, but it was too late. Adriana was declared brain dead.
Under normal circumstances, her family could begin the grieving process. But due to Georgia’s controversial abortion legislation — known as the “heartbeat bill” — Adriana’s body has been kept alive on machines for over three months, simply because she was pregnant.
This situation has triggered complex questions about end-of-life legal rights, OB-GYN liability, and the boundaries of maternal medical insurance coverage when the patient is legally deceased but biologically sustaining a fetus.
“She’s been breathing through machines for more than 90 days,” Newkirk said. “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.”
Her grandson doesn’t understand what’s happening.
“It’s been heartbreaking seeing her grandson believe his mother is ‘just sleeping,’” Newkirk said.
Legal Limbo and Mounting Medical Costs
