A woman in Georgia who was declared brain dead in February is being kept on life support at Emory University Hospital due to her pregnancy.
Adriana Smith, 30, was diagnosed with a fatal brain clot and declared legally dead, but doctors have continued care to allow the fetus to develop. Her mother, April Newkirk, said the hospital informed the family that removal of life support could violate Georgia’s abortion law, which bans abortion after cardiac activity is detected.
Smith is 21 weeks pregnant. The fetus has been diagnosed with fluid on the brain, raising concerns about its health. “She’s pregnant with my grandson. But he may be blind, may not be able to walk, may not survive once he’s born,” Newkirk told WXIA.
Emory declined to comment on the specific case but said its providers follow clinical, legal, and ethical guidelines in compliance with state law.
Legal experts say Georgia does not explicitly require life support in such cases, though uncertainty remains since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
“Removing the woman’s mechanical ventilation or other support would not constitute an abortion,” said Thaddeus Pope, a bioethicist and lawyer told AP.
Georgia’s 2019 law confers personhood on fetuses.
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