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First Post
29-06-2025
- Health
- First Post
Brain-dead Georgia woman kept alive due to abortion laws finally given funeral
Georgia's abortion legislation, known as the LIFE Act, bans the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy and was a decisive factor in keeping Adriana Smith on a ventilator read more Adriana Smith was kept alive medically despite being brain-dead as she was pregnant. Image courtesy: Facebook. Hundreds gathered at Fairfield Baptist Church in Lithonia on Saturday to mourn Adriana Smith, the 31-year-old Georgia nurse who was declared brain-dead in February but remained on life support so her pregnancy could continue under the state's restrictive abortion law. Smith's funeral drew nurses, relatives, friends and members of the public, many carrying white roses. The Atlanta Metropolitan Nursing Honor Guard performed a ceremony to formally relieve Smith of her nursing duties. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Her mother, April Newkirk, told NBC affiliate WXIA that Smith was nine weeks pregnant when she collapsed at home. Her boyfriend had found her gasping for air and making gargling noises. She was rushed to hospital, where doctors discovered multiple blood clots in her brain. Smith never regained consciousness. Georgia's abortion legislation, known as the LIFE Act, bans the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy and was a decisive factor in keeping Smith on a ventilator. The law allows few exceptions and does not account for the mother's mental state if she is brain-dead. Her baby boy, Chance, was born prematurely on 13 June, weighing just 1 pound, 13 ounces. Smith was removed from life support a few days after his birth. The newborn remains in a neonatal intensive care unit. 'He's expected to be OK,' Newkirk said earlier this month. 'He's just fighting.' Smith is survived by her infant son and an older child, Chase. Her younger sister, Naya, said she hopes to carry forward Adriana's legacy. 'I'm thankful for everything that she's taught me— her love, her kindness, her wisdom,' she said during the funeral. 'Family meant everything to her. So I hope that I can follow in her footsteps.'
NBC News
28-06-2025
- Health
- NBC News
Funeral for brain-dead woman kept alive due to abortion law held Saturday in Georgia
The funeral for the Georgia woman who was brain-dead but kept alive by ventilators because of the state's abortion law was held Saturday in an Atlanta suburb, NBC News affiliate WXIA of Atlanta reported. The funeral took place at Fairfield Baptist Church in Lithonia, WXIA reported, and drew a crowd that included a number of Smith's fellow nurses and other members of the public. Adriana Smith, who had just turned 31, was declared brain-dead in February after a CT scan found multiple blood clots in her brain, her mother, April Newkirk, told WXIA earlier this year. She was nine weeks pregnant when her boyfriend rushed her to the hospital after he woke up to find her gasping for air and making what he described as gargling noises, Newkirk told WXIA. Because of Georgia's strict abortion law — known as the LIFE Act — which makes abortion illegal after six weeks of pregnancy — Smith was kept alive until her child could be born and survive on his own, according to WXIA. The baby was born prematurely on June 13, weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces, Newkirk told WXIA at the time. WXIA reported Saturday that Smith was taken off life support days after her son, Chance, was born. The baby is still in the neonatal intensive care unit. "He's expected to be OK," Newkirk told the station earlier this month. "He's just fighting." Smith also has an older son, Chase. Smith's funeral Saturday drew family, friends, community members and peers who wanted to honor her life. The Atlanta Metropolitan Nursing Honor Guard performed a tribute to relieve Smith of her duties as a nurse, WXIA reported, and many who attended the funeral carried white roses. "I'm thankful for everything that she's taught me — her love, her kindness, her wisdom," Smith's younger sister, Naya, said, according to WXIA. "Family meant everything to her. So I hope that I can follow in her footsteps."
