A baby named Chance was born on June 13. He arrived eight weeks early, weighed less than two pounds, and was delivered by emergency cesarean section. His mother, Adriana Smith, a 30-year-old Black woman, had been declared brain dead nearly four months earlier.
Smith was kept on life support in Georgia since February. She became the center of a devastating and controversial case at the intersection of reproductive rights, medical ethics, and state abortion law. Now that her baby has been born and she has finally been removed from life support, it’s time to confront the legal and moral questions this case highlights. Especially how Black women’s bodies are treated in life and in death.
What Happened to Adriana Smith?
Smith was reportedly healthy before she was suddenly hospitalized in February due to a series of catastrophic blood clots in her brain. Despite doctors’ efforts, Smith was declared brain dead. At the time, she was approximately nine weeks pregnant, which is far before any fetus is viable outside the womb.
Legally, brain death is considered death. Medically, there is no treatment or recovery. But because Georgia is one of several states enforcing a strict abortion ban after six weeks of gestation, her situation quickly became more than a medical emergency. It became a legal and ethical crisis.
Smith’s family was faced with an unthinkable situation. Their daughter’s body was no longer alive, yet they were told she had to be kept on machines until the fetus either died or could be delivered.
For months, Smith’s body was artificially maintained in a hospital in Augusta, GA. During that time, her family lived in limbo, with no power to fulfill Smith’s likely wishes, while grappling with the trauma of watching her body treated as an incubator.
A Premature Delivery and a Baby Named Chance
On June 13, Smith was about 25-26 weeks pregnant, just past the threshold of fetal viability. Doctors performed an emergency cesarean section, delivering a premature baby boy named Chance. He weighed just under 2 pounds and was immediately placed in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), where he remains in critical but stable condition.
Just four days later, Smith was finally taken off life support.
Chance is fighting, and many across the country are sending their prayers and love. But his birth hasn’t erased questions from critics who worry Smith was denied dignity and autonomy in death.
The Legal Gray Area
At the heart of this case is Georgia’s LIFE Act. This act bans abortion after about six weeks, when fetal cardiac activity can be detected, unless the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest (with police report) or if the pregnant person’s life is in danger. There is no explicit exception for brain death.
Doctors, unsure whether withdrawing life support would be considered an “abortion” under the law, deferred to the courts. But no court ruling ever came. Meanwhile, Smith’s body was kept on life support, day after day, month after month.
Eventually, Georgia’s Attorney General clarified that brain death is legally equivalent to death, and that removing life support would not violate abortion laws. But by then, Smith had been kept on life support for nearly four months.
Why This Story Matters for Black Women Specifically
Smith’s case is a heartbreaking anomaly but also a warning. It shows what happens when laws are written without clarity, nuance, or regard for bodily autonomy. When reproductive rights are stripped, real women suffer, especially Black women, who already face disproportionate risks in maternal health care, higher rates of medical neglect, and systemic injustice.
This case makes one thing painfully clear: reproductive rights are not theoretical. They’re not about headlines, slogans, or partisan victories. They are about control over women’s bodies, their families, and their futures.
Smith’s story is likely to become part of broader legal and legislative conversations. Activists and attorneys are calling for Georgia and other states with similar laws to clarify and amend abortion statutes, ensuring families and doctors aren’t left in legal limbo when facing impossible choices.