The funeral for the Georgia woman who was brain dead but kept alive on ventilators due to the state’s abortion law was held Saturday in an Atlanta suburb, according to NBC affiliate WXIA.
Adriana Smith’s funeral was held at Fairfield Baptist Church in Lithonia, according to WXIA, and was attended by many of Smith’s fellow nurses as well as members of the general public.
Smith, who turned 31 in June, was declared brain-dead in February after a CT scan revealed multiple blood clots in her brain, her mother, April Newkirk, told WXIA earlier in the year.
Newkirk told WXIA that she was nine weeks pregnant when her boyfriend rushed her to the hospital after waking up to find her gasping for air and making gargling noises.
Because of Georgia’s strict abortion law, known as the LIFE Act, which makes abortion illegal after six weeks of pregnancy, Smith was kept alive until her child could be born and survive on his own, according to WXIA.
Newkirk told WXIA that the baby was born prematurely on June 13 and weighed 1 pound, 13 ounces.
WXIA reported on Saturday that Smith was taken off life support days after the birth of her son, Chance. The baby is still in the neonatal ICU.
“He is expected to be fine,” Newkirk told the station earlier this month. “He’s just fighting.”
Smith also has an older son named Chase.
Smith’s funeral on Saturday drew family, friends, community members, and peers who wanted to remember her life.
According to WXIA, the Atlanta Metropolitan Nursing Honour Guard paid tribute to Smith by relieving her of her nursing duties, and many attendees carried white roses to the funeral.
“I’m thankful for everything that she’s taught me — her love, her kindness, her wisdom,” Smith’s younger sister, Naya, told WXIA. “Family was everything to her. So I hope to follow in her footsteps.
