Mourners lay Georgia mother to rest after months spent on life support

“Who would have thought that this situation will bring this much attention?” Clayton said during Smith’s funeral at Fairfield Baptist Church in Lithonia. “You have a way of changing situations without alerting us about what your intentions are. Is this our mission?

“Are we to create change concerning others who may come, who may be faced with the same circumstances that me and my family is faced with? We are all challenged with this new task, but with the help of God and you, (Adriana), we are willing to be the voice of the voiceless.”

Smith made international headlines last month after her mother, Newkirk, said Emory University Hospital told her the state’s abortion law required Smith to remain on life support because she was pregnant. Newkirk later clarified the family intended to keep Smith on life support until the baby was born.

Smith was declared brain-dead in February and placed on life support. The day she went to the hospital, her boyfriend found her gasping for air and making gargling sounds in her sleep, according to 11Alive, which first reported the news.

She had gone to a different hospital the day before with complaints of a severe headache, but was sent home with medication.

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Smith’s baby, whom the family named Chance, was born by emergency cesarean section on June 13 and is now in the NICU. Smith’s family had doctors remove her from life support a few days after Chance’s birth.

Smith was nine weeks pregnant when she was admitted to the hospital in February.

Since news of Smith’s situation made its way to national and then international news, groups on both sides of the abortion debate have taken steps to raise awareness about Georgia’s laws and, in some instances, raise money for the family. Georgia’s abortion law took effect in 2022.

Speaking to Smith’s friends and family at the funeral, state Rep. Park Cannon, an Atlanta Democrat and abortion rights advocate, said she plans to introduce a bill that would allow family to remove their loved one from life support even if they are pregnant.

“The advanced directive protection … should be upheld to ensure that a patient’s end-of-life wishes, regardless of pregnancy, take precedence over fetal personhood clauses, preventing forced somatic support when the person is legally dead,” Cannon read from a legislative resolution presented to Smith’s family.

Georgia law bans most abortions after medical professionals can detect fetal cardiac activity, which is typically around six weeks of pregnancy and before many know they are pregnant. Later abortions are allowed in limited cases, such as if there is a fetal abnormality or if the life of the mother is at risk.

There also are exceptions in instances of rape or incest when a police report has been filed.

For years, abortion rights advocates and providers have said Georgia’s law is unclear because much of the language used is not in medical terms. For example, the law says abortions may occur if the mother is experiencing a “medical emergency,” but doctors say that’s difficult to interpret because there is no bright line between a person being fine and at risk of death.

But Attorney General Chris Carr, Georgia’s top prosecutor, said through his office that the abortion law did not require Emory Hospital to keep Smith’s body functioning.

“There is nothing in the (abortion law) that requires medical professionals to keep a woman on life support after brain death. Removing life support is not an action with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy,” Carr’s spokesperson, Kara Murray, said in the statement.

Newkirk had expressed concern over the expense of keeping her daughter on life support until at least early August, when doctors planned to perform a cesarean section. Money raised could also be used for Chance’s care.

Students for Life announced its goal to raise $100,000 for the family to cover medical expenses. They said they delivered $22,415 to Emory Hospital Midtown, where Smith received care and Chance is still being cared for, last week.

Newkirk started her own online fundraiser, which had raised more than $435,000 as of Saturday — far surpassing its initial $250,000 goal.

Nya Smith, Adriana Smith’s younger sister, told mourners she was thankful for the time she had with her sister, someone she said she looked up to.

“I’m thankful for everything that she’s taught me,” Nya Smith said. “Her love, her kindness, her wisdom. And I just pray that she covers me moving forward, that she guides me to make the best decisions. And family meant everything to her. So I hope that I can follow her footsteps. … I’m thankful for her.”