Brain dead US woman kept alive for child birth taken off life support. Newborn weighs under a kilo
Adriana Smith's mother April Newkirk told local news outlet 11Alive that her daughter's baby, Chance, was delivered on June 13. However, she added that while she is happy that the child was born, the decision to allow Smith be kept on life support should have been left to the family. Newkirk said, 'We didn't have a choice or a say about it.'
Smith was removed from life support on June 17.
Chance, alarmingly, weighs under a kilo and remains in the neonatal intensive care unit according to multiple reports.
'He's expected to be OK,' Newkirk was quoted by 11Alive as saying. 'He's just fighting. We just want prayers for him. Just keep praying for him. He's here now.'
A nurse herself, Smith's condition began in February, when she visited a hospital with what she believed was a severe headache. After being discharged with medication, the 31-year-old expecting mother had to be rushed to a different hospital the next day gasping for air. The doctors at Emory University Hospital discovered blood clots in her brain, and within hours, she was declared brain dead.
The issue gained national attention and sparked outrage when Smith's family revealed that doctors informed them about Georgia's six-week abortion ban, which includes foetal personhood language, required Smith to be kept alive to support the pregnancy.
Before Chance's birth, Newkirk had said, 'We want the baby. That's a part of my daughter. But the decision should have been left to us – not the state.'
Her family is now planning her funeral.
Newkirk said physicians told her they were legally obligated to keep Smith on life support, although the hospital declined to comment on specific details due to privacy regulations.
In a statement to AP, the hospital said it relies on 'uses consensus from clinical experts, medical literature, and legal guidance to support our providers as they make individualized treatment recommendations in compliance with Georgia's abortion laws and all other applicable laws. Our top priorities continue to be the safety and wellbeing of the patients we serve.'
Critics argue such laws risk elevating foetal rights above those of the person carrying the pregnancy.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr's office later clarified that the state's abortion ban does not mandate medical staff to keep brain-dead pregnant women on life support. 'Removing life support is not an action with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy,' said Carr's spokesperson, Kara Murray in a statement cited by The Guardian.
Newkirk reflected on the tragedy and said, 'I'm her mother,' she said. 'I shouldn't be burying my daughter. My daughter should be burying me.'
In 2019, Georgia's Republican Governor Brian Kemp approved a law imposing a near-total ban on abortions. However, the legislation only came into force after the US Supreme Court overturned the Roe vs Wade decision in 2022, which had previously ensured a constitutional right to abortion for women.
Georgia continues to lag behind in healthcare performance, consistently ranking among the lowest in the nation. WalletHub's 2024 report on the Best & Worst States for Health Care places the state near the bottom in terms of both quality and access.
Even among residents with employer-sponsored insurance — which covers over half the state's population — affordability remains a major concern. A recent Curative Insurance Company survey revealed that 41% of working adults in the Atlanta metro area have postponed medical care due to cost, while 50% admitted to not filling prescriptions despite having insurance. These delays often result in more severe health issues and increased long-term expenses.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Top psychologist explains why hidden trauma is dangerous
Hidden trauma impacts life. Dr. Julie Smith explains that unaddressed mental wounds cause intense emotional reactions. People often numb these reactions with harmful substances. Hiding trauma worsens the wound. Healing involves recognizing the sensitivity as a reaction to past trauma. It is important to seek professional help. Healing happens when one feels safe to address the trauma. Mental trauma is not always visible, but its repercussions keep making ripples in your life. Just like a physical wound needs to be cured for you to feel better, mental traumas also need healing. But often we end up sweeping these mental traumas under the carpet, and they later pop up in the most unimaginable ways. Dr. Julie Smith, a UK-based clinical psychologist, describes hidden trauma as 'a wound you carry within.' Hidden trauma is a red flag Keeping the mental trauma hidden or not addressing it is the worst thing you can do for yourself. 'If you or someone you love has ever experienced trauma , I want you to imagine for a moment that you have this wound and the pain is unbearable. So the most natural response is to keep it covered, hide it away. But inevitably, people brush past that wound, and they have no idea of the pain it causes,' Dr. Smith explains. 'In Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) we often use the analogy of a burn or wound to help us understand how past trauma can increase sensitivity years later. When a wound is psychological, the people around us often have no idea that they have touched on old wounds. So they can feel confused, fearful, or angry when they witness the intense emotional reaction that appears to come out of nowhere,' she adds. These hidden traumas later appear as intense emotional responses, and they may come across as overreactions. To try to fit in and feel normal, people numb these reactions, often with drugs, alcohol, or by keeping themselves occupied. So, what happens if you hide trauma ? Dr. Smith stresses that hiding the trauma may feel like it's okay for the moment, but the unhealed wound will only get worse. How to heal from a hidden trauma 'If we have no idea how to heal those old wounds, it is understandable that we get to work hiding them or trying to numb the pain that they can trigger. And there are plenty of things that do just that. But none of them come without a cost. The price we pay is often in our relationships, mental and physical health, and ability to be at peace when all is still and silent,' she says. Why Modern Couples Are Choosing Separate Beds: Sleep Divorce Explained So, how do you heal? According to the psychologist, part of healing is to recognize how that sensitivity and the intense emotions that come with it are not a fault in your personality. 'They're a reaction to that past trauma. And healing happens best when we're safe to open things up and take a look at what we're dealing with,' she adds in a video shared on Instagram. This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you or someone you know is struggling with trauma or mental health challenges, seek support from a licensed mental health professional.
Time of India
19 hours ago
- Time of India
Tattoo tech may help detect drink spiking
AP file photo A temporary "tattoo" could provide partygoers looking for a safe night out with a secret indicator to detect drugs often used to spike drinks in public bars and clubs. Rohypnol, also called a "roofie", and GHB, sometimes called "liquid ecstasy" or "fantasy," are club drugs used, often by young people, in bars and nightclubs, raves and other nightlife settings. It is an illegal drug in many places, including the United States, UK and Australia. While certain doses of these club drugs can produce a feeling of relaxation or euphoria, excessive doses can lead to symptoms of drowsiness, slurring of speech, loss of motor function, confusion and memory impairment. Overdose and toxicity are also possible. Drug regulators have also identified both drugs as the toxins of choice for offenders seeking to spike drinks, render their victims unconscious or close to that, and then sexually assault them. Because these are short-lived, tasteless and colorless drugs, it's especially difficult for those wanting to have a safe night out to know if their drink has been spiked. However, a new report published in the American Chemical Society in its journal ACS Sensors, has described an innovation from a South Korean research group that could make drug identification practically seamless. Fast, discreet test for danger drugs There are already products that allow people to identify whether a drink has been spiked. These appear as strips that can be dipped into a drink, with a color change indicating the presence of an unwanted chemical. However, such a technique can take minutes and could leave a person vulnerable to other social dangers with such an obvious testing method. The new rapid test developed by materials scientists funded by the South Korean government could offer an alternative. Looking like a tattoo, but in actuality a removable sticker, the new product could provide an opportunity to quickly and subtly identify the presence of GHB. Embedded in the silicone sticker film is a solution containing an iodide indicator called BHEI. When exposed to a solution containing GHB, the indicator changes from yellow to red. According to reported results, stickers changed color almost instantaneously when exposed to drops of GHB in whisky, vodka, beer or coffee. For those wearing the sticker, they would only need to expose their marker to a single droplet of their drink for the change to take place. It was sensitive enough to detect 0.01 milligrams of GHB per milliliter. "This innovation represents a proactive and accessible solution for preventing drug-facilitated sexual assault, enhancing personal safety, and fostering a sense of control and awareness in high-risk environments," the authors wrote in the study. Promising, but further testing required It's not the first time that sensors have been developed to detect date rape drugs. More than a decade ago, a group from the National University of Singapore developed a fluorescent sensor platform that could be formed into drink stirrers and straws to indicate drinks spiked with GHB. A US startup had previously invented a quick test platform that tested for several drugs using a testing disc. But rapid testing products will likely need to be developed further before going to market. Kabrena Rodda, a forensic toxicologist at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory in the US, said some spot tests can be unreliable. "Unfortunately, spot detection methods such as these can often have high false positive rates — that is, telling you it detected the drug when it actually is not there," Rodda, who was not involved in the new study, told DW in an email. "This can lead people to avoid drinks that may be safe, which may in turn lead to an inaccurate belief that GHB is being spiked in people's drinks." However, Rodda said the sticker test developed by the Korean researchers was "praiseworthy and important." A venture company has now been established to try and bring the product to market in South Korea. But customization and adaptability to other target drugs is currently limited. "Since a custom mold must be made and filled with agarose gel containing the GHB chemical receptor, there may be limitations in freely designing shapes like real tattoos," Gyeong-Ji Kim, the study's lead author based at Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea, told DW. "Customization is possible to some extent, but it is technically constrained. "We have not yet developed chemical receptors for detecting other drugs. However, if receptors for substances such as opioids or synthetic cannabinoids are developed in the future, we believe they can be integrated into our tattoo sticker platform."
Economic Times
2 days ago
- Economic Times
Palestinian Health Ministry says more than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza war
Synopsis The Palestinian Health Ministry reports a staggering toll of over 62,000 Palestinian lives lost in the 22-month Gaza war, with at least 60 deaths in the last 24 hours alone. The conflict, ignited on October 7, 2023, has also left over 156,000 wounded. AP Israeli soldiers drive on their armored personnel carrier back from inside the northern Gaza Strip into southern Israel, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Monday that more than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed in the 22-month Gaza war. At least 60 people were killed in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll from the Israel-Hamas war that started on Oct. 7, 2023 to 62,004. Another 156,230 have been wounded, it said. The Health Ministry said 1,965 people were killed while seeking aid from aid convoys or killed close to aid distribution sites. At least seven Palestinians were killed attempting to access aid on Monday morning. The ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, is staffed by medical professionals. The United Nations and other independent experts view its figures as the most reliable count of casualties. Israel has disputed its figures, but hasn't provided its own account of casualties.
