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A Georgia mom gave birth while brain-dead and her family says abortion laws left them powerless to say goodbye.
In Georgia, a family is grappling with an unimaginable grief, made even more painful, they say, by laws that left them with no choice in a moment that demanded humanity and care.
Adriana Smith, a 31-year-old registered nurse, mother, daughter, and sister, gave birth to a baby boy on June 13 via emergency C-section. But this isnt a story about a joyful delivery.
Smith was declared brain-dead in February, just eight weeks into a surprise pregnancy, after suffering blood clots in her brain. Since then, she had been kept on life support, not to preserve her life, but because of what her family says are the unclear consequences of Georgias anti-abortion legislation, known as the LIFE Act. Now, Smiths family is preparing to take her off life support Tuesday afternoon, just days after welcoming her son, Chance, into the world.
Hes expected to be OK, said Smiths mother, April Newkirk, in an interview with 11Alive. Hes just fighting. We just want prayers for him. Just keep praying for him. Hes here now.
Chance was born prematurely and weighs just under 2 pounds. He remains in the NICU as his family navigates the emotional rollercoaster of welcoming him while mourning the young woman who carried him.
Its kind of hard, you know, Newkirk added. Its hard to process.
And its been made harder, she says, by a law that never should have dictated such an intimate, devastating moment.
Georgias 2019 heartbeat law bans abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected typically around six weeks with few exceptions. But it doesnt clearly address what happens when a pregnant person is declared brain-dead. That legal gray zone has left hospitals, patients, and families unsure how to proceed in some of the most traumatic moments imaginable.
Smiths family says they were left without the ability to make medical decisions for their daughter. Doctors, citing the law, kept her body functioning to support the pregnancy, despite her being legally and medically gone.
Im not saying we would have chosen to terminate her pregnancy. But Im saying we should have had a choice, Newkirk told 11Alive.
And that lack of choice, that silencing of a familys agency, is exactly what reproductive rights advocates say is the dangerous, often hidden cost of so-called personhood legislation. While some anti-abortion advocates have praised the hospitals actions for prioritizing the fetus, critics argue that these laws reduce women to vessels, even in death.
I think all women should have a choice about their body. And I think I want people to know that, Newkirk said Monday.
Smith was a mother already to a 7-year-old boy who, as of now, believes his mom has simply been sleeping.
In the days following Chances birth, the family celebrated Smiths 31st birthday even as they began to prepare for her burial. Newkirk says she wishes she had the chance to say one last thing.
Im her mother, she said. I shouldnt be burying my daughter. My daughter should be burying me.
At the time this article is written, nearly 4,300 people have donated to a GoFundMe for Smiths family, raising over $165,185 of a $275,000 goal.
For the Newkirk-Smith family, the story doesnt end with a political debate. It ends with a farewell to a daughter, a mother, a nurse, and a woman who deserved more than to become collateral damage in a legal battle over reproductive autonomy.
