A grieving family has spoken out after their brain-dead pregnant daughter was kept on life support for months, citing a disturbing consequence of Georgia’s restrictive abortion law.
Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old nurse and mother from Atlanta, was nine weeks pregnant when she began suffering from severe headaches in early February.
Seeking medical attention, she was sent home with medication — but no imaging scans or lab diagnostics were performed, according to her family.
“They gave her some medication, but they didn’t do any tests. No CT scan,” said her mother, April Newkirk, in an interview with 11Alive. “If they had done that or kept her overnight, they would have caught it. It could have been prevented.”
The following morning, Adriana’s boyfriend discovered her gasping for air in her sleep — a critical emergency response scenario.
She was rushed to the hospital, where a CT scan revealed multiple blood clots in her brain. Doctors prepared for immediate surgery, but it was too late. Adriana was declared brain dead.
Under typical circumstances, the family would have had the right to begin end-of-life decisions and grieve the loss.
