Adriana’s life support was to be withdrawn yesterday, June 17, more than four months after her family was first told she would not survive, but would have to remain on life support to sustain her pregnancy due to Georgia’s abortion laws.

The ordeal has sparked growing outrage from lawmakers and advocates, who say the family was trapped in a cruel legal gray area that stripped them of the right to make decisions about Adriana’s care and dignity.

Yesterday, Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05), with co-leads Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (CA-51), introduced a resolution in Congress recognizing Adriana’s case as a tragic example of how restrictive anti-abortion laws — especially fetal personhood laws — can inflict devastating harm on pregnant people and their families.

The resolution calls for urgent legislative changes to protect medical autonomy, particularly for Black women, who face systemic medical neglect and higher rates of maternal mortality.

“I extend my sympathies to Adriana Smith’s family,” said Congresswoman Williams. “Adriana deserved better at every point of this tragedy. The lack of clarity in Georgia’s law created unimaginable cruelty for Adriana and her loved ones.”

Representative Jacobs added, “Adriana was kept breathing on machines for months to serve as an incubator. Women are worth more than their ability to get pregnant. Let this be the moment we finally end these cruel laws.”

Adriana Smith had sought medical care in early February for severe headaches but was discharged without thorough testing. The next day, her condition worsened. She was later declared brain dead on February 19 — but was nearly nine weeks pregnant.

Because Georgia’s 2019 LIFE Act bans abortion after six weeks and provides no clear guidance in cases involving brain death, Emory University Midtown Hospital kept Adriana on life support without her family’s consent, hoping to carry the pregnancy to viability at 32 weeks.

Her body remained on artificial support for nearly five months.

“Georgia’s laws denied Adriana’s family the ability to say goodbye on their own terms,” said Representative Pressley. “She and her family were failed by a broken system.”

The newly introduced resolution calls on Congress and states to:

While Georgia’s Attorney General has stated that nothing in the LIFE Act explicitly required keeping Adriana on life support, the lack of guidance left doctors and families paralyzed by fear of criminal penalties.

Advocates say cases like Adriana’s are not isolated — and that such laws contribute to distrust in the medical system, particularly among Black women, who already face disparities in maternal care.

“This is about restoring dignity and ensuring no other family is forced to endure what Adriana’s has,” said Congresswoman Williams.

As Adriana’s family mourns, many are calling for this case to be a turning point — one that forces lawmakers to confront the real human costs of abortion bans and personhood laws.

Related Articles: