GEORGIA (WALB) – A Georgia woman who was declared brain dead during her pregnancy was kept on life support for months so her unborn child could be delivered — a decision that has raised new questions about the state’s abortion laws and medical ethics.

According to her family, Adriana Smith, 31, gave birth to a baby boy named Chance at approximately 4:41 a.m. on Friday, June 13, 2025, via emergency C-section. He weighed just 1 pound and 3 ounces at birth and remains in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in critical but stable condition,11Alive reports.

Smith was declared brain dead in March following a medical emergency. Since she was pregnant at the time, doctors continued life support in order to carry the fetus to viability. According to Atlanta News First, Smith’s care team said their actions were influenced by Georgia’s restrictions on terminating pregnancies, especially after fetal cardiac activity is detected.

Her family told the BBC that the decision to continue life support was painful but grounded in love for baby Chance. Her mother called it “agonizing but full of hope.”

Smith is expected to be removed from life support today, Tuesday, June 17, just four days after her son’s birth.

However, on Friday, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr stated that Smith’s care was not legally mandated by the state’s abortion law. In a statement reported by 11Alive, Carr’s spokesperson Kara Murray clarified: “There is nothing in the LIFE Act that requires medical professionals to keep a woman on life support after brain death.” She added that removing life support does not equate to terminating a pregnancy and extended prayers to Smith’s family.

Smith’s story has sparked widespread discussion across the country and drawn attention to the implications of restrictive abortion laws in cases involving complex medical ethics. Her family has since organized support for Chance, who now faces a long and uncertain road ahead in the NICU.

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