April Newkirk biography: April Newkirk is known as the mother of Adriana Smith, who was declared brain dead by doctors when Adriana Smith was nine weeks pregnant, so she was kept on life support.
Adriana Smith was a 31-year-old Black woman who lived in Georgia, US. She was a nurse.
April Newkirk said to the media, “We didn’t have a choice. We want the baby – he’s a part of my daughter. But the decision should have been left to us, not the state.”
“I am her mother. I shouldn’t be burying my daughter. My daughter should be burying me.”
In February 2025, her daughter had a severe headache, so she went to the hospital and was given some medication.
She woke up gasping for breath the next day, then she went again to a hospital in Georgia, where she was declared brain dead. Her brain had stopped working completely. In most cases, when this happens, life support is removed because there’s no way for the person to come back.
Doctors told the family, “We cannot turn off the machines. The law says we must do everything possible to keep the baby alive. That means keeping Adriana’s body alive too.”
Her daughter gave birth to a baby boy named Chance through an emergency cesarean section on June 13, 2025. Her son’s weight was 1 pound 13 ounces (0.82 kg) when he was born.
