TikToker Speaks Out About What Family Of Brain-Dead Pregnant Woman Forced To Be Kept On Life Support Is Going Through

A TikToker shed light on the trauma of keeping a brain-dead person alive after a pregnant woman was declared brain-dead more than 90 days ago, and is being kept alive to sustain the life of the fetus.

A 30-year-old pregnant woman named Adriana Smith is a black nurse and mother living in Georgia who sought treatment in February at Northside Hospital after suffering intense headaches while nine weeks pregnant.

Her mother and advocate, April Newkirk, told the media that Smith was released after being administered medication with no CT scans or other tests.

Newkirk talked to the media about her daughter’s life-threatening symptoms being ignored:

“They gave her some medication, but they didn’t do any tests. No CT scan. If they had done that or kept her overnight, they would have caught it. It could have been prevented.”

The next day, Smith’s boyfriend awoke to Smith gasping and gurgling for air in her sleep and contacted emergency services. Smith was transferred to Emory University Hospital, where CT scans showed blood clots in her brain, and soon the doctors declared Smith brain dead.

The family’s nightmare became worse when they were informed that under Georgia’s anti-abortion LIFE Act, medical staff is legally required to maintain life support until the fetus reaches viability at 32 weeks.

The Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act, also known as Georgia House Bill 481 or the heartbeat law, is a state-wide consequence of the 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade that was signed into law by pro-life Governor Brian Kemp in 2019, banning most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

In Smith’s case, Republican State Senator Ed Setzler, who sponsored the LIFE Act, supports the medical staff’s risk-adverse interpretation of the law:

“I think it is completely appropriate that the hospital do what they can to save the life of the child. I think this is an unusual circumstance, but I think it highlights the value of innocent human life. I think the hospital is acting appropriately.”

The hospital has kept Smith on unresponsive life support even as doctors found fluid in the baby’s brain. Doctors plan to perform a C-section on Smith in early August.

And even though the baby, whom the family has named “Chance,” is showing some improvement with a strong heartbeat and measurements, the family has expressed frustration over not having a say or a legal means in Smith’s medical care or pregnancy.

Newkirk discussed the medical staff’s decision to keep Smith alive:

“We didn’t have a choice or a say about it. We want the baby. That’s a part of my daughter. But the decision should have been left to us, not the state.”

The grieving mother has been visiting her daughter daily and bringing Smith’s youngest son to see her, who reportedly thinks his mother is sleeping:

“It's torture for me. I see my daughter breathing, but she’s not there. And her son — I bring him to see her."

Newkirk’s interview with 11Alive News can be seen below:

- YouTube11Alive/YouTube

The family’s suffering is shared by TikTok user Jennifer Comstock, whose 30-year-old son was declared brain dead and kept alive to stabilize his organs for donation while medical staff found donor recipients. In her video, she discusses the ongoing medical interventions and medications that “would fix one thing, and another would go wrong.”

But Comstock highlights how her son had chosen to be an organ donor, while Smith didn’t have a choice:

“My son wanted to be an organ donor, and that is why we continued to do it. And my son saved lives. But I don't think you guys understand. This woman is not in a vegetative state; she's not in a coma. She's dead. Her body is not functioning. Her brain is not producing the hormones required to sustain a pregnancy.”

Comstock’s TikTok can be seen below:

Comstock echoed Newkirk’s pain as the family is being put through torture as they wait and watch their daughter’s body deteriorate in state-enforced hopes of saving the fetus. Like Comstock, many have expressed their outrage and sadness over the law that has directly affected Smith and her family.

Their reactions can be seen below:

@marvs_20001/TikTok

@anney800/TikTok

@battlematron67/TikTok

@pinkdogwoodstudio/TikTok

@tmhifsut/TikTok

@danniegirl1972/TikTok

Georgia Democrats have been calling on Governor Kemp to clarify the legality of the LIFE Act regarding Smith’s case.

Georgia State Senator Nabilah Islam Parkes held a press conference yesterday and sent a formal inquiry for a binding legal opinion on the House Bill from the attorney general on what qualifies as a medical emergency for an abortion, a definition on fetal conditions incompatible with life, and why that guidance has not been made explicitly to medical providers and hospitals.

Since the reversal of Roe v. Wade, Georgia is one of 13 states to ban abortion and enact gestational limits.

A GoFundMe campaign for Adriana Smith and her family has raised over $ 130,000 with 3,000 donations.