The ruling follows months of medical and legal turmoil after the child’s mother was declared brain dead and kept on life support.
ATLANTA, Ga. — A Georgia judge this month granted Adrian Harden permanent custody of his infant son, known to relatives as Baby Chance, concluding a custody fight that began after the boy’s mother, 30-year-old Adriana Smith, was declared brain dead in February and kept on life support long enough to deliver the child in June.
Harden’s case drew attention because he and Smith were not married, meaning he lacked automatic parental rights under Georgia law. Attorneys filed an emergency legitimation and custody petition in DeKalb County Superior Court in August; the court issued temporary custody in September and a final order on Dec. 2 awarding Harden sole legal and physical custody. The decision closes one chapter of a saga that started when Smith, nine weeks pregnant, suffered a catastrophic medical emergency and was later removed from life support days after the birth. The infant, delivered around 26 weeks, remains under medical care, according to family updates.
Smith sought care for severe headaches in early February, relatives said. The next day she collapsed and was rushed to Emory University Hospital, where scans revealed extensive blood clots. She was declared brain dead on Feb. 19. Because fetal cardiac activity was present, clinicians sustained her on ventilatory support. The baby was delivered by emergency C-section on June 13, weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces. Four days later, Smith was taken off life support and died. “They said they would treat the baby as the patient,” her mother, April Newkirk, said in an interview, describing the months as “a nightmare.” Hospital officials have said they comply with state law and clinical standards. The infant has remained in a neonatal intensive care unit while slowly gaining weight, family members said.
After the birth, Harden learned he could be blocked from taking his son home when discharged without a court order because he and Smith were not married. Under Georgia law, an unmarried father must legitimate a child to gain custodial rights, even if paternity is not in dispute. Harden’s attorneys with Better Law Divorce Attorneys filed the legitimation petition in August. The court granted temporary custody in early September, allowing Harden to make medical decisions, and on Dec. 2 Judge Latisha Dear-Jackson issued a final order for sole legal and physical custody. The firm’s founder, Melaniece Davis, said the case exposes barriers that unmarried fathers face in emergencies. The firm noted minority and low-income fathers are often disproportionately affected by delays and costs in navigating the process.
The medical and legal threads unfolded amid debate over Georgia’s LIFE Act, which bans most abortions once fetal cardiac activity can be detected and recognizes “fetal personhood” in several areas of law. Smith’s family said clinicians told them removing life support would violate the state ban, leaving them with no choice as her body was maintained for more than 16 weeks. The Georgia Attorney General’s Office has said the law does not require life support after brain death, and some legal scholars argue hospital policies, not statute, can drive decisions in such rare first-trimester brain-death cases. Smith’s cesarean delivery at roughly 26 weeks placed her son among extremely premature infants who often need prolonged respiratory and developmental support.
Court records in Harden’s case outline a procedural path familiar to family lawyers: an emergency petition, temporary orders, and a final custody decree. The difference was that the petition effectively required Harden to sue Smith posthumously to legitimate his son, because the statute presumes no rights for an unmarried father without court action. Harden’s final order gives him sole decision-making authority and physical custody. The child remains hospitalized, and Harden has been coordinating with specialists on transfer and ongoing care. The court did not address the broader policy questions raised by Smith’s treatment; those debates are occurring in legislative and medical forums outside the custody case.
Outside the courthouse, relatives have described the strain of managing grief for Smith while following the infant’s slow progress. Nurses and doctors have provided updates on weight gain and breathing support as the baby moves toward eventual discharge, the family has said. “He’s struggling, but he’s gaining weight,” Newkirk said earlier this month. Friends have organized support for travel and lodging during hospital visits. Harden’s attorneys called the custody ruling a stabilizing step for the child’s care plan, while emphasizing that the medical journey is ongoing and unpredictable for infants born this early.
As of Sunday, the court’s final order remains in effect and the boy is still receiving inpatient care. The next milestone is a medical review expected in the coming weeks to determine transfer and discharge timing, according to the family.
Author note: Last updated December 21, 2025.