‘More trauma, more questions’: Atlanta woman forced to keep ‘brain dead’ pregnant daughter ‘alive’ due to Trump’s abortion ban

A woman who has been officially declared “brain dead” for over three months is being kept alive due to the laws surrounding abortion in her state which Donald Trump had a hand in bringing in.

Earlier this year, in February, a 30-year-old nurse from Atlanta GA experienced a brain clot which was missed by doctors despite her visiting hospital with her symptoms a day prior. Adriana Smith, who was nine weeks pregnant at the time, was found by her boyfriend struggling to breathe in her sleep reports PEOPLE. 

By the time they got her to hospital, it was too late, Adriana was declared brain dead. Despite there being no hope of survival for her, she is being kept on life support due to the state laws which protect the unborn fetus she was carrying prior to her brain clot.

The case is a legally gray area

There’s a war going on in the U.S. against reproductive rights, the last few years have seen the country take major steps backwards and it’s not over yet. The state of Georgia changed the law after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, something which president Trump has taken the credit for.

The home state of Marjorie Taylor Greene has some pretty regressive laws on abortion. Georgia law specifically states that “no abortion shall be performed if the unborn child has a detectable human heartbeat except (a) in the event of a medical emergency or medically futile pregnancy (see page 19); or (b) in cases involving rape or incest.”

Because Adriana’s case does not fall under any of those exceptions, doctors are not legally allowed to consider any other options for Smith. As Adriana is already brain dead, there is no medical emergency, nothing more can be done for the former nurse and mother. As such, from a legal standpoint, the unborn fetus must be kept alive until it is viable.

This has caused much anguish for Adriana’s family

Adriana’s mother, April Newkirk expressed how distressing the situation has been for the entire family.

“She’s been breathing through machines for more than 90 days… It’s torture for me. I see my daughter breathing, but she’s not there. And her son — I bring him to see her.”

The grieving mother went on to describe the heartbreak of bringing her grandson to see Adriana who he believes is “just sleeping.” Newkirk argues that the decision regarding Adriana and her unborn child’s life should be left to the family, not the state. “This decision should’ve been left to us. Now we’re left wondering what kind of life he’ll have — and we’re going to be the ones raising him.” Newkirk explained that there’s a chance the child won’t survive upon birth, meaning all this trauma would have been for nothing.

While what happened to Adriana Smith may not be a particularly common occurrence, it does demonstrate that the law in Georgia regarding abortion should be reconsidered.