Overview

• Adriana Smith, declared brain-dead in February at nine weeks pregnant, is being kept on life support at Emory Healthcare to sustain her pregnancy until the fetus reaches viability around 32 weeks.
• Georgia's LIFE Act, which bans abortion after fetal cardiac activity is detected, and its fetal personhood provisions are central to the hospital’s decision, though the state attorney general disputes this interpretation.
• Smith's family, including her mother April Newkirk, opposes the continuation of life support, citing emotional trauma and the fetus’s reported health complications, such as fluid on the brain.
• Medical experts warn that sustaining a pregnancy from such an early stage of brain death rarely results in a healthy delivery, with the fetus facing significant risks of severe disabilities or death.
• The case has reignited national debates over medical consent, patient autonomy, and the far-reaching implications of post-Roe abortion restrictions on end-of-life decisions.