Brain-dead pregnant mum’s ‘corpse’ kept alive as baby grow

…..But family say it’s ‘torture’ & want her to die

A Brain-dead pregnant mum is being kept alive for her foetus to grow – but her grieving family have said it’s “torture” and want her to pass.

Adriana Smith, 30, was nine weeks pregnant when she went to hospital in Georgia seeking treatment for agonising headaches three months ago.

The young nurse was sent home by doctors with medication who didn’t conduct a CT scan.

Adriana woke up the next day with a shortness of breath and making gargling sounds, with the hospital later discovering she had blood clots in her brain.

After unsuccessful surgery to relieve the pressure they were causing, Adriana was tragically declared brain-dead.

The nurse has a seven-year-old son who is now without his mum, leaving Adriana’s already-grieving family devastated.

But the already-harrowing circumstances turned into “an absolute horror show” after Emory University Hospital told Adriana’s family that despite her being legally dead, she wasn’t allowed to die.

This is because the hospital – where Adriana previously worked – say it’s acting “in compliance with Georgia’s abortion laws”.

The hospital has demanded Adriana’s body is kept alive on breathing and feeding tubes until medical staff determine the male foetus is sufficiently developed to be delivered by cesarean section in early August.

Health officials in Georgia reportedly believe that removing her from life support would violate the state’s strict anti-abortion laws

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The laws prohibit termination once a foetal heartbeat is detected at roughly six weeks.

Despite Georgia’s contentious law dubbed the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act containing an exception to save the life of the mother, according to the hospital, this doesn’t apply to Adriana.

They say this is because her life is beyond saving.

Adriana’s heartbroken family hadn’t made a decision on whether to switch off her life support, but have been left devastated that the choice is no longer theirs.

Adriana’s mum April Newkirk heartbreakingly told 11Alive: “This is torture for me.

“I see my daughter breathing by the ventilator but she’s not there.”

April also revealed how the foetus – named ‘Chance’ by the family – has hydrocephalus, otherwise known as fluid on the brain.

This means that even if he survives the pregnancy, he could be born with severe disabilities.

April added: “He may be blind, may not be able to walk, may not survive once he’s born.

“Right now, the journey is for baby Chance to survive.