By Cody Alcorn
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ATLANTA (WXIA) — Eighteen billboards bearing the face of Adriana Smith are going up across the Atlanta area.
It’s been one year since the 30-year-old registered nurse was rushed to the hospital while pregnant, a case that drew national and international attention and ignited debate over how Georgia’s abortion law intersects with rare, devastating medical emergencies.
“You know, we want people to remember our daughter. She was a good person,” her mother, April Newkirk, said.
Newkirk spoke with 11Alive on Monday and described how the crisis began Feb. 9, 2025.
Smith had been dealing with severe headaches, and her family has said she sought medical help before her condition rapidly worsened.
Newkirk said Smith sought treatment at Northside Hospital but was released after being given medication.
“They gave her some medication, but they didn’t do any tests. No CT scan,” Newkirk said. “If they had done that or kept her overnight, they would have caught it. It could have been prevented.”
The next morning, Newkirk said Smith’s boyfriend woke to her gasping for air in her sleep — gargling sounds he believes were caused by internal bleeding.
“Today is the day that everything happened. And our life will never be the same, never be the same,” Newkirk said.
She said after being rushed to the hospital unconscious, through scans, doctors discovered blood cots.
Smith was declared brain dead ten days later while pregnant, a detail that became central to the legal and ethical storm that followed.
Her family has said doctors kept Smith on life support for months because the pregnancy had cardiac activity and Georgia’s abortion restrictions shaped what medical options were available — and what the family believed they could choose.
“We didn’t have a choice,” Newkirk said.
She added, “The baby was being treated as the patient. So we didn’t know much. So, we respected that’s Georgia law.
The case spurred a broader public debate over Georgia’s 2019 abortion law, often called the “heartbeat” law, and whether it clearly accounts for medical decision-making when a pregnant patient is declared brain dead — including questions raised by state officials and lawmakers about how the law should be applied.
Newkirk said her family felt powerless as the months went on.
“You have no power and it’s just not right,” she said.
As Smith remained on life support, Newkirk said watching her daughter’s appearance and condition change was agonizing.
“She looked like herself at the beginning, then she started deteriorating, her face, the color, the youth and stuff, she was housing the baby, you know, feeding baby through an IV…” she said.
Smith’s baby — Chance — was delivered by emergency C-section on June 13, 2025, and was born extremely premature, weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces, 11Alive previously reported.
Smith was removed from life support days later.
Nearly eight months later, Chance is still receiving care and therapy at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Newkirk said, adding that his weight is now about 17 pounds.
“He’s coming along. He has occupational therapy, and physical therapy,” she said.
Newkirk said the baby’s resemblance to his mother is striking.
“He looks like my daughter, a lot, a lot,” she said.
As the family marks a year since Smith was rushed to the hospital, Newkirk also addressed online claims about Chance’s father and custody, saying misinformation has compounded the family’s grief.
A judge later awarded Chance’s father sole legal and physical custody, 11Alive reported in December.
“There was no custody battle between me and the child’s father,” Newkirk said.
“I will treat him as if he’s my child and I will help him in every way that I can with Chance,” she said.
Newkirk and Smith’s father are helping raise Smith’s older son, Chase, who is now 7, she said. She emphasized that the family’s focus is unity — and the wellbeing of both children.
“I don’t want us to be divided, I want us to be one. So, I just want to set the record straight with that,” she said.
Newkirk said the billboards are meant to keep Smith’s name and face in the public eye and as her family continues pushing lawmakers to take a closer look at how Georgia law handles cases involving pregnancy, consent and catastrophic medical outcomes.
“I want my face to be seen, I want my voice to be heard, I want to advocate for my daughter, she was special to me,” she said.
She said the past year has left her family grieving while still trying to move forward.
“Any mother and father should not have to go through this but we’re here now and we’re trying to put the pieces back together,” Newkirk said.
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