An American nurse who had been declared brain dead but had been kept alive since February because she was pregnant was taken off life support on Tuesday, after her baby was delivered prematurely last Friday.
Her mother, April Newkirk, said 31-year-old Adriana Smith’s baby was born by an emergency Caesarean section. She was about six months into her pregnancy, reports The Associated Press.
The baby, named Chance, weighed less than 1kg at birth and is in the neonatal intensive care unit. “He’s expected to be okay,” Newkirk said. “He’s just fighting.”
Newkirk said her daughter had suffered from sudden and intense headaches more than four months ago and went to Atlanta’s Northside Hospital, where she received medication and was released.
The next morning, her boyfriend woke to her gasping for air and called 911. Emory University Hospital determined she had blood clots in her brain and she was declared brain dead. She was eight weeks’ pregnant.
Smith’s family said Emory doctors had told them they were not allowed to remove the devices keeping her breathing because state law bans abortion after cardiac activity can be detected – generally around six weeks into pregnancy.
Georgia Republican Attorney-General Chris Carr later issued a statement saying the law did not require medical professionals to keep a woman, who had been declared brain dead, on life support.
“Removing life support is not an action ‘with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy,’” he said.
Smith, who turned 31 on Sunday, also leaves behind a seven-year-old son.
AP News article – Baby delivered from brain-dead woman on life support in Georgia (Open access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Brain-dead pregnant woman kept alive by US law
New mother to be taken off life support against family’s wishes
Judge rules for mediation in brain damaged toddler’s life support treatment
‘Brain-dead’ boy’s parents win appeal fight in life-support case