Brain-dead mom who gave birth while on life support is laid to rest
The 31-year-old nurse was removed from life support after the birth of her son, Chance. She had been kept alive to carry the pregnancy to term because under Georgia's abortion ban it could not be terminated even though she was brain-dead.
Friends and family paid tribute to Adriana at her funeral, remembering her as a kind soul.
'I just want to say that I'm thankful for the time I spent with her, and I'm thankful for everything that she's taught me. Her love, her kindness, her wisdom,' her sister, Naya, said in her speech.
'Family meant everything to her,' Naya added. 'So I hope that I can follow in her footsteps. Besides that, I'm thankful for her.'
The Atlanta Metropolitan Nursing Honor Guard paid tribute to Adriana by formally releasing her from her nursing duties. A guard member rang a bell while delivering the traditional 'final call of duty' in her memory.
Adriana's newborn son, Chance, remains in a neo-natal intensive care unit after being born via C-section. He was delivered at 25 weeks gestation and weighed in at 0,8kg. Adriana's family has launched an online fundraiser to support the baby and her other son, Chase (7).
The state of Georgia has strict abortion laws and the hospital that treated Adriana said she had to remain on life support until her baby was developed enough to be delivered.
The state's 'heartbeat law', which prohibits termination once cardiac activity is detected in a foetus – usually at around six weeks – is one of America's strictest regulations.
The law was implemented after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022 – a decision that took away a woman's constitutional right to abortion in several states.
The heartbeat ruling grants legal rights to foetuses and shifts decision-making authority away from families to the authorities, leaving relatives powerless over medical choices they'd typically make for their loved ones.
Adriana's mom, April Newkirk, previously said that baby Chance is expected to be okay, but added 'he's just fighting'.
'We just want prayers for him.'
On taking her daughter off life support after Chance's birth, April said, 'I'm her mother, I shouldn't be burying my daughter, my daughter should be burying me.'
Adriana was declared brain-dead in February after suffering blood clots in her brain.
Her family feared her baby could face serious health challenges, including blindness or difficulty walking, as a result.
READ MORE| Brain-dead pregnant woman is kept alive until her baby can be delivered due to US abortion law
The decision to keep her on life support 'should have been left up to the family', her mother said previously.
Legal experts have warned that Georgia's heartbeat law effectively places medical decisions in the hands of lawmakers rather than families and physicians.
'Once that power is yielded, pregnancy becomes a scary loss of dignity and humanity for the pregnant person,' says Farah Diaz-Tello, senior counsel at If/When/How, a reproductive justice non-profit.
Critics argue Adriana was essentially being used as an incubator without her consent, with her bodily autonomy overridden by abortion restrictions.
'We're seeing this pregnant person being used as a means to an end in a really, really heartbreaking way,' says Jess Pezley, a senior attorney at Compassion & Choices, a group that advocates for access to medical aid in dying.
Georgia officials have offered contradictory interpretations of the law. The attorney general's office claims the abortion law doesn't require keeping a brain-dead patient on life support, while Republican state lawmakers say the law had absolutely nothing to do with Adriana's situation.
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