Adriana Smith's baby boy is now 8 pounds and 'growing very well'

Though death was wished upon him, the innocent baby boy born months after his mother Adriana Smith was kept on life support now weighs eight pounds and is reportedly "growing well," according to a recent post on the family's GoFundMe support page.

Key Takeaways:

• Adriana Smith's baby boy, Chance, who was born months after she was declared brain dead and remained on life support, is now eight pounds and is making progress, though still in the NICU.

• Smith was declared brain dead after experiencing blood clots during her pregnancy. She was nine weeks pregnant with Chance at the time.

• Though media has made many dishonest claims about Smith's situation, Smith was not kept on life support because of Georgia's pro-life law; the state's advance directive law has a two-part requirement when a pregnant patient is put on life support, and Smith met only one of those requirements.

• Many people cruelly wished death upon Chance, both before and after his birth, though Smith's family hoped for his survival.

The Details:

Smith's baby boy, named Chance by Smith's family because he was given a chance at life, was born between 25 and 26 weeks gestation on June 13, weighing just one pound, 13 ounces. He is now four months old and weighs eight pounds.

According to an update posted on October 14 on the family's GoFundMe page by his maternal grandmother, April Newkirk:

"Chance is now 8 pounds. He is growing very well. Chances lungs are underdeveloped, so he will stay in the nicu unit until his breathing gets better. Chase saw his little brother by video .this was a touching moment thank you all for your prayers and support. Keep praying"

Chase is Adriana Smith's older son. Though Smith's family will always mourn her loss — her mother previously told media, "... I think about her every day, all the time" — these two young boys likely bring joy to Smith's family in the midst of their grief.

The Backstory:

Though media have made many dishonest claims about Smith's situation, Smith was not kept on life support because of Georgia's pro-life law; the state's advance directive law has a two-part requirement when a pregnant patient is put on life support, and Smith met only one of those requirements. As Live Action News previously reported:

Adriana Smith was not kept on life support due to the Georgia LIFE Act. The Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care Act of 2007 specifies that a pregnant woman cannot be withdrawn from life support unless 1) her preborn child is not yet considered viable, and 2) she has an advance directive in place requesting to be removed from life support.

Additionally, Georgia's attorney general made clear that removing a pregnant patient from life support does not constitute an abortion under the law.

Even after Chance's birth, many wished death upon him; some claimed that his prematurity would leave him with a lesser quality of life, while others openly lamented that if he survived, it could threaten women's 'bodily autonomy' and 'choice' for abortion. Smith was nine weeks pregnant when she was placed on life support.

Some medical experts have weighed in, pointing out that, while Smith was inaccurately portrayed on social media and elsewhere as a "corpse," corpses do not gestate. Dr. Heidi Klessing stated:

… [A]s the latest (2023) American Academy of Neurology (AAN) brain death guideline explicitly states, you can be declared “brain dead” even when you still have brain waves on your EEG or if you still have ongoing function in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. This means that the way doctors diagnose “brain death” today does not comply with the law under the UDDA, which says there must be an irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain for a legal diagnosis of death….

The fact that someone declared “dead” can be kept alive proves that “brain death” is not actual death, but a legal fiction… no amount of medical care can help a corpse to gestate and deliver a baby.

What's Happening:

Despite these facts, and despite making it clear they wanted Chance to survive, Smith's family now appears to be rallying people to oppose Georgia's pro-life law that protects children in the womb from being intentionally killed once a heartbeat is detected. Newkirk previously told local media station 11Alive:

I want them to know that this didn't have to happen. I want them to know that the law needs to be changed. It doesn't need to be altered. It doesn't need to be in effect at all. Women have rights; it's their body.... I would like to see young women stop dying.

She added, "We have to get rid of legislation. We have to get out and vote for positive change. We have to get out and vote. There has to be awakening."

While these remarks are vague, they appear to be an attempt to blame Smith's death (and possibly even baby Chance's survival) on Georgia's pro-life law. But as Live Action News previously noted:

Legalized abortion would not have saved Adriana and would not save any woman from negligent medical care. The Georgia LIFE Act was not the reason Smith was kept on life support and is not the reason she tragically died.

The Bottom Line:

Baby Chance's life is precious, and has been precious from the moment he was conceived; he has always been the same individual human being. His miraculous survival — his life — is no accident, and it is heartbreaking to think it may be used as a reason to ensure the deaths of other innocent children.

Join us as we continue to pray for Chance's health and for him to graduate from the NICU soon.