A Baby is Growing Inside Legally Dead Woman—But the Grieving Family Wants to Take Her Off Life Support

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“A 30-year-old woman, Adriana Smith, is being kept alive on life support despite being brain dead due to Georgia’s strict anti-abortion laws. Her family, who want her to pass peacefully, are calling the situation torture. The hospital will continue life support until early August, when the fetus, Chance, is expected to be viable for a C-section.

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A 30-year-old woman, Adriana Smith, is being kept alive at the Emory University Hospital despite being brain dead. She has been used as a human incubator since she was 9 weeks pregnant. Georgia has a strict anti-abortion ban, and letting her die while the baby is still alive and growing will be against those laws.

There is a huge ethical and legal dilemma here, as the family has no say in this matter. They are calling this scenario torture and want her to pass peacefully.

Adriana, a nurse herself, went to the doctor when she had severe headaches. The doctors recommended a CT scan to learn more about her symptoms. Her condition worsened the next day as she woke up with gargling sounds and shortness of breath. The doctors soon discovered blood clots in her brain. They performed surgery on her brain to clear the pressure, but it was unsuccessful, and she was declared brain dead.

Even while she was brain dead, the doctors could not let her die as the fetus had a heartbeat. Georgia anti-abortion laws prohibit abortions after six weeks or when cardiac activity is detected in the fetus. Although Adriana is legally dead, she isn’t allowed to put off life support just yet. The hospital is not considering the family’s appeal as per Georgia’s abortion laws.

The hospital is using feeding tubes to keep her alive and will keep doing so till early August. By that time, the male fetus will be developed to be delivered via C-section. Since Adriana is already brain dead, the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act’s exception to save the mother is not applicable here. Doctors have confirmed she cannot be saved in any way, but the fetus, who’s being called Chance, is viable.

Adirana’s family is already grieving the loss of her life. Meanwhile, the state has taken away its right to make decisions. Her mother, April, says the situation is torture for them to watch their daughter breathe via a ventilator, but she’s gone.

The fetus has hydrocephalus, so he may end up with disabilities like blindness. He may not even be alive once he is born, so all this struggle will be for nothing. April hopes her grandson will survive and they’ll love him just the way he’ll be born. As the fetus grows, even the doctors are aware of the complications that may arise.

The life support system may not be able to sustain her. They are not made for long-term brain-dead patient treatment. Her brain has already started to decompose, so there’s no guarantee this whole experiment of keeping her alive till August will work.

Political figures have different opinions about the situation. Senator Ed Setzler said there is a valuable human life that can be saved. On the other hand, Republican Attorney General Chris Carr stated that the law does not make it an obligation to keep brain-dead patients alive.

In a similar case, a brain-dead woman, Marlise Munoz, who was 14 weeks pregnant, was kept on life support. In this case, her husband won the case to take her off life support.