A pregnant woman, 30, in Georgia, USA, declared brain-dead, is being kept on life support due to the state's strict abortion laws. Adriana Smith has remained on life support for over three months, as doctors wait for the foetus to develop enough to be delivered — a decision her family says the hospital attributed to Georgia's abortion restrictions.
With her due date still more than three months away, Ms Smith's case could become one of the longest recorded instances of a brain-dead pregnant woman being kept alive, according to a report in the news agency AP.
Her family is distressed by a law that does not allow relatives to make decisions about ending life support if cardiac activity is detected in the foetus.
Who Is Adriana Smith?
Adriana Smith, 30, was a mother and registered nurse working at Atlanta's Emory University Hospital. In February 2025, when she was nearly nine weeks pregnant, she began experiencing severe headaches.
Her mother, April Newkirk, told Atlanta's WXIA-TV that Ms Smith went to Northside Hospital in Atlanta for treatment. She was given medication and sent home.
When Ms Smith's boyfriend woke up the next morning, he heard her gasping for breath while she was sleeping. He even heard her making gargling sounds that he thought were the result of internal bleeding. He immediately called emergency services.
Ms Smith was transferred to Emory University Hospital, where doctors found she had blood clots in her brain. She was later declared brain-dead.
Her family, including her young son, who still believes his mother is just asleep, has remained by her bedside every day since.
Ms Smith is currently 21 weeks pregnant, April Newkirk said. Doctors have said that removing her breathing tubes and other life-sustaining equipment would most likely end the pregnancy.
According to the WXIA-TV report, doctors intend to keep Ms Smith on life support until the foetus reaches a stage, around 32 weeks, where the baby can survive outside the womb.
Georgia's Abortion Ban
Georgia's abortion law, commonly known as the “heartbeat law,” is one of the strictest in the United States. It bans abortion once cardiac activity is detected in a foetus, usually around six weeks into pregnancy.
The law was originally passed in 2019, but only came into effect after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision. Since then, Georgia and several other conservative states have implemented similar restrictions.
Although the law allows for an exception if the mother's life is at risk, such clauses have sparked legal and ethical debates, reported AP.
As seen in a major Texas Supreme Court ruling in 2024, these exceptions are often narrowly interpreted, even in the face of severe pregnancy complications.
