At Adriana Smith’s Funeral, Democratic Lawmaker Calls Out ‘Restrictive Fetal Personhood Regimes’

“We believe bodily autonomy should be upheld in Georgia by enacting Adriana’s Law,” said Rep. Park Cannon at Saturday’s service, as she introduced a new resolution in Smith's honor. 

By Lauren Tousignant  |  June 30, 2025 | 2:03pm
Photo: GoFundMe AbortionPolitics
At Adriana Smith’s Funeral, Democratic Lawmaker Calls Out ‘Restrictive Fetal Personhood Regimes’

Adriana Smith, the woman Georgia kept on life support after she was declared brain dead because she was nine weeks pregnant, was laid to rest on Saturday in Lithonia.

Georgia’s six-week abortion ban, one of the strictest in the country, has few exceptions—and Smith’s story has placed a harsh spotlight on both the cruelty of state-level abortion bans and how their vague, confusing language makes them that much more difficult for health care workers to navigate and interpret.

Smith’s baby was delivered prematurely, via C-section, on June 13, weighing just 1 pound 13 ounces. Smith, who also had a 7-year-old son named Chase, was removed from life support a few days later. Her newborn, Chance, remains in the NICU.

In May, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (R) said the state’s abortion ban doesn’t require a hospital to keep a brain-dead person alive just because they’re pregnant—but that’s all he did. Just a half-assed statement and no further action.

At Smith’s funeral, Democratic State Rep. Park Cannon presented a Georgia House resolution in her honor. The resolution, named Adriana’s Law, would ensure that pregnant individuals maintain control over their medical decisions.

“We believe bodily autonomy should be upheld in Georgia by enacting Adriana’s Law,” Cannon said. “Which would affirm that individuals retain agency over their bodies and medical decisions even under restrictive fetal personhood regimes.”

Fetal personhood is the recognition of embryos and fetuses as separate living persons, with rights that are equal to, and often placed above, those of the pregnant person. Like a state deciding to keep a brain-dead woman on life support so her body can be used as an incubator. Ever since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, the once-fringe movement has terrifyingly gone mainstream, as more and more states introduce or pass legislation that asserts that “life begins at conception.”

Also at the service, the Atlanta Metropolitan Nursing Honor Guard paid tribute by reciting the “final call of duty” and ringing a triangle to officially relieve Smith of her duties as a nurse.

“I’m thankful for everything that she’s taught me—her love, her kindness, her wisdom,” Smith’s younger sister, Naya, said, according to 11Alive.com. “Family meant everything to her. So I hope that I can follow in her footsteps.”

One of Smith’s friends, a former classmate from Georgia State University, also spoke. “She brought Chase, I brought my son… We sat in that room, stressing out over a med surge exam,” she said. “And we promised each other if we ever became teachers, we would never torture our students this way.”

In February, Smith went to the emergency room complaining of severe headaches, but the hospital released her with some meds and without conducting any scans or tests. The next night, Smith’s boyfriend woke up to find her gasping for air. She was rushed back to the ER, where a CT scan revealed multiple blood clots—hours later, she was declared brain dead and placed on a ventilator.
“We didn’t have a choice or a say about it,” Smith’s mother, April Newkirk, told 11Alive at the time. “We want the baby. That’s a part of my daughter. But the decision should have been left to us—not the state.”
In June, Newkirk told 11Alive that the ordeal has been “torture,” but that Chase is expected to be OK.

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