DeKalb County’s final order caps a year marked by medical uncertainty, legal petitions and a premature birth.
ATLANTA, Ga. — A DeKalb County judge has awarded sole legal and physical custody of an infant to the child’s father, Adrian Harden, closing a custody case that emerged after the baby’s mother, Adriana Smith, was declared brain dead in February and kept on life support until an emergency delivery in June.
The ruling, issued Dec. 2 by Judge Latisha Dear-Jackson, followed temporary orders this fall that allowed Harden to make medical decisions while his son remained hospitalized. Lawyers called the case unusual because Harden had to legitimate his child posthumously against Smith’s estate due to Georgia’s rules for unmarried parents. The custody outcome provides continuity for the infant’s care as doctors manage long-term complications common among extremely premature births. The case also revived questions about how hospitals interpret Georgia’s abortion ban and personhood provisions when a pregnant patient is legally dead.
Smith, 30, first went to a hospital in early February with severe headaches and was sent home. The next day she collapsed and was taken to Emory University Hospital, where scans showed widespread blood clots. She was declared brain dead on Feb. 19, relatives said. Clinicians maintained organ support because fetal cardiac activity continued. On June 13, at about 26 weeks, doctors performed an emergency cesarean section, delivering a boy weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces. Smith was removed from life support four days later and died. “We really didn’t have a choice,” her mother, April Newkirk, said, describing the months as “a nightmare.” The infant has gained weight steadily but continues to require specialized respiratory care in the NICU.
After the birth, Harden learned he could not automatically take his son home when discharged because he and Smith were not married. In August, his attorneys filed an emergency legitimation and custody petition in DeKalb County Superior Court. The court granted temporary custody and decision-making authority in early September. On Dec. 2, Dear-Jackson issued a final order naming Harden the sole legal and physical custodian, clearing the way for him to manage medical, insurance and transfer decisions. The case file, according to his legal team, underscores how unmarried fathers must obtain court recognition even when biology is uncontested.
Parallel debates continued over Georgia’s LIFE Act, which restricts abortion once fetal cardiac activity is detected and identifies fetuses as “living, distinct persons” for some legal purposes. Smith’s family has said hospital staff cited the law in explaining why life support would continue. The Attorney General’s Office has said the law does not require life support after brain death, noting removal is not an act intended to terminate a pregnancy. Bioethicists point out that first-trimester brain-death cases are exceedingly rare and lack standardized protocols, leaving hospitals to weigh medical literature, ethics consultations and legal guidance case by case.
For Harden, the legal steps meant suing Smith’s estate to legitimate his child and secure custody, a procedural quirk that family lawyers say can feel jarring in tragedy. The final order consolidates decision-making and clarifies custody as the baby’s care team evaluates readiness for transfer to a specialty facility. The order does not address policy questions raised by Smith’s treatment, and no related criminal or civil actions have been announced. Legislators and advocacy groups have signaled interest in reviewing gaps revealed by the case, but no hearing calendars have been posted.
Relatives have offered snapshots of the hospital routine: daily updates from nurses, incremental increases on feeding volumes, and trials off intensive respiratory support. “He’s struggling, but he’s gaining weight,” Newkirk said in a recent interview. Friends have organized help for lodging and transportation during long NICU stays. Harden’s attorneys praised the court’s final decision as providing “stability and clarity” for the baby’s next stages of care while acknowledging the uncertain timeline common to extremely premature infants.
As of Sunday, the infant remained hospitalized while the care team evaluated transfer options. Another medical review is expected before year’s end to set the next steps and a tentative discharge window.
Author note: Last updated December 21, 2025.