Law enforcement authorities in Ipoh need public assistance in locating a missing 13-year-old adolescent, who was last spotted on Saturday.
A Fresh Spin:
Born in Controversy: Chance, the Premature Son of a Brain-Dead Mother
WASHINGTON, June 19 - Amidst the tumultuous landscape of rapidly evolving abortion laws in the US, a heartbreaking story has captured the nation's attention. Adriana Smith, a brain-dead pregnant woman in Georgia, gave birth to her premature son, Chance, on June 13, 2025.
Chance, born via emergency C-section, weighed around 1 pound, 13 ounces, and is currently receiving critical care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Sadly, Smith was taken off life support on Tuesday.
As a registered nurse, Smith had experienced severe headaches in February while nine weeks pregnant. An initial hospital visit resulted only in a prescription for medication. The following morning, she was rushed to the hospital where she worked, where doctors discovered multiple blood clots in her brain, pronouncing her brain dead.
Georgia's abortion laws, including the so-called 'heartbeat' laws, have restricted the options available to Adriana's family. As she was nine weeks along, doctors were hesitant to act, fearing potential legal repercussions. Speaking to local NBC broadcaster WXIA-TV, April Newkirk, Smith's mother, shared her frustration, stating, "We should have had a choice."
The Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v Wade in June 2022 has led to over 20 states, including Georgia, imposing strict limits on, or even banning, abortions. These restrictions have sparked intense debate, particularly regarding their impact on women's rights, particularly for Black women who face systemic healthcare disparities.
Three Democratic congresswomen – Nikema Williams, Ayanna Pressley, and Sara Jacobs – have spoken out on the issue, pushing for better protections for the rights of pregnant women, including Black women who are disproportionately affected by systemic medical neglect and restrictive anti-abortion laws.
The lawmakers have highlighted the lack of a clear legal stance on such complex cases, leaving medical professionals and families in a state of limbo. The situation remains clouded in legal ambiguity, with Georgia's Attorney General Chris Carr's office asserting that the LIFE Act does not mandate life support for brain-dead women, while Emory Healthcare maintains it to preserve the fetus until fetal viability.
The debate surrounding Georgia's abortion laws and their impact on vulnerable groups such as brain-dead pregnant women is far from over. This tragedy serves as a poignant reminder of the complex ethical and legal challenges that continue to reshape abortion access and reproductive rights in the US.
- The legal ambiguity surrounding brain-dead pregnant women, as seen in the case of Chance, has become a hot topic in crime-and-justice and general-news, with the lack of a clear legal stance affecting both medical professionals and families.
- Amidst the political landscape of rapidly evolving abortion laws, such as those in Georgia, the story of Chance, born to a brain-dead mother, has sparked intense debate about the rights of pregnant women, particularly Black women who face systemic healthcare disparities.
- The court's role in shaping abortion laws, particularly the overturning of Roe v Wade in 2022, has had significant implications for cases like Chance's, with laws like Georgia's 'heartbeat' laws restricting options for women like Adriana Smith and affecting the entire justice and law system.
