Adriana Smith’s family confirmed the brain dead nurse delivered her baby son via emergency c-section while on life support at Atlanta’s Emory University Hospital. Smith delivered her premature baby early Friday morning at the same hospital system where she worked as a nurse.
Smith, 31, was nine weeks pregnant when she was declared brain dead in February. Emory Hospital refused to take Smith off a ventilator because she was pregnant.
Smith’s family said Emory doctors told them they were not allowed to remove Smith from life support because state law bans abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detected.
Smith’s case has stirred emotions and raised questions about abortion laws and hospitals playing politics.
April Newkirk, Smith’s mom, told WXIA-TV that the baby, named Chance, weighs 1 pound, 13 ounces. “He’s expected to be okay,” Newkirk told 11Alive News. “He’s just fighting. We just want prayers for him.”
Newkirk said Smith loved working as a nurse at Emory. She said Smith went to Northside Hospital after experiencing intense headaches in February. The hospital sent her home on medication without running any diagnostic tests.
The next morning, Smith’s boyfriend found her unresponsive and making a gurgling noise. She was rushed to Emory Decatur and transferred to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, where she was diagnosed with blood clots in her brain.
Smith has a 7-year-old son who misses his mom. Her family celebrated her 31st birthday on Sunday.
The family decided to remove Smith from life support on Tuesday.
“I’m her mother,” Newkirk told WXIA. “I shouldn’t be burying my daughter. My daughter should be burying me.”
