Five and a half months after doctors in Georgia delivered a baby prematurely to a brain-dead mother, the infant’s grandmother, April Newkirk, has shared a difficult update. Baby Chance, who was born on June 13 after his 31-year-old mother was kept on life support due to Georgia’s “heartbeat bill,” remains in the NICU and will soon be transferred to another hospital for more intensive care. Newkirk also shared that Chance, who was born at 1 pound and 13 ounces, now weighs 11 pounds.
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The update indicates that Baby Chance’s fight continues, as the NICU provides care to babies who require “intensive medical care” or “specialized nursing care.”
As we previously reported, Adriana Smith, Chance’s mother, who was a registered nurse, experienced severe headaches last February. Smith went to Northside Hospital, was released, and eventually was admitted to Emory University Hospital, where she was declared brain-dead. She was just nine weeks pregnant.
Under Georgia’s House Bill 481, her medical team was legally required to keep her on life support until the fetus was considered viable. There are exceptions for rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is in danger, but Smith’s situation did not meet these criteria. This meant doctors could not choose other medical options.
As Smith’s family cares for her baby, they cope with their grief without her and try to move forward in the shadow of a law that they could not challenge.
Newkirk ended the update on her grandson with an expression of gratitude for prayers, stating, “God has the final say so.”
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