June 17, 2025
Georgia mom who was declared brain dead at eight weeks pregnant has given birth.
The Georgia mom who was declared brain dead while pregnant has given birth via C-section to a premature baby boy who has been sent to the NICU.
Adriana Smith welcomed baby boy Chance prematurely June 13 around 4:41 a.m. via emergency C-section, 11 Alive reported. He came in around 1 pound 13 ounces and was taken to the NICU, Smith’s mother April Newkirk revealed.
“He’s expected to be OK,” Newkirk said. “He’s just fighting. We just want prayers for him. Just keep praying for him. He’s here now.”
Now, after welcoming new life, the family is set to take Smith off life support on June 17.
“It’s kind of hard, you know,” Newkirk said through tears. “It’s hard to process. I’m her mother. I shouldn’t be burying my daughter. My daughter should be burying me.”
Baby Chance’s birth coincided with Smith’s 31st birthday, which the family celebrated over the weekend.
“If I could say one more thing to her, I guess I would tell her that I love her and that she was a great daughter.”
Smith’s unusual medical case made national headlines earlier this year after she was diagnosed and declared brain dead in February, following a medical emergency caused by blood clots in her brain. Smith was eight weeks pregnant at the time. According to Newkirk, doctors told the family they were legally required to keep her on life support because of the state’s law.
The situation drew widespread attention because it raised complex legal and ethical questions tied to Georgia’s abortion law, House Bill 481, also known as the LIFE Act, which bans most abortions once cardiac activity is detected, typically around six weeks into pregnancy. Newkirk criticized the hospital’s decision, arguing that the law took away her family’s right to make critical medical decisions.
“I’m not saying we would have chosen to terminate her pregnancy. But I’m saying we should have had a choice,” Newkirk said earlier this year
She echoed that sentiment again after announcing the birth of her grandson.
“I think all women should have a choice about their body. And I think I want people to know that,” she said.
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