The family of Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old Georgia woman declared brain-dead after suffering a medical emergency during early pregnancy, says they’ve been told doctors cannot remove her from life support because of the state’s abortion law.

Smith was nine weeks pregnant in early February when she was hospitalized with severe headaches. Doctors discovered multiple blood clots in her brain, and despite emergency surgery, she was left brain-dead. Her mother, April Newkirk, says the hospital is keeping her daughter alive to give the fetus a chance to survive.

“She’s been breathing through machines for more than 90 days. It’s torture for me,” Newkirk told WXIA. “I see my daughter breathing, but she’s not there.”

The hospital reportedly told the family that under Georgia’s Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act, doctors cannot remove life support from a pregnant woman if a fetal heartbeat is detected. The law, passed in 2019 and signed by Governor Brian Kemp, prohibits most abortions once cardiac activity is present—typically around six weeks.

But Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr’s office disputes that interpretation.
“There is nothing in the LIFE Act that requires medical professionals to keep a woman on life support after brain death,” spokesperson Kara Murray said. “Removing life support is not an action with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy.”

Supporters of the law, like the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Mack Parnell, echoed that sentiment, calling attempts to tie the law to Smith’s case “a disservice.” Yet State Senator Ed Setzler, the bill’s sponsor, praised the hospital’s actions:
“I’m thankful for the hospital recognizing the full value of this small human life… mindful of the agony of this young mother’s family.”

Under the LIFE Act, exceptions are allowed in cases of rape or incest (if a police report is filed), or if the mother’s life is in danger due to a medical emergency. The law defines medical emergencies as situations involving substantial and irreversible physical impairment or death of the mother.

Smith’s family believes they should have had the legal right to decide whether to end the pregnancy. They say doctors plan to keep her on life support until the fetus reaches viability, around 32 weeks.

“This decision should’ve been left to us,” Newkirk said. “We’re left wondering what kind of life [the baby] will have—and we’re going to be the ones raising him.”

Smith’s medical ordeal began when she sought care at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, where her family says she was discharged with only medication and no imaging. She later collapsed and was transferred to Emory University Hospital—where she had worked as a nurse—before being moved to a facility providing obstetric care.

With no end in sight, Newkirk says she’s overwhelmed by grief, medical decisions, and mounting hospital costs.