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Texas AG Asks Court to Protect Child With Treatable Heart Condition
Texas court is weighing parental and surrogacy rights as officials seek treatment for a baby diagnosed before birth with a serious heart defect.
DALLAS, TX — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has intervened in a Dallas County parentage case involving an unborn child diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), seeking court orders to ensure the baby receives medically necessary treatment after birth.
The child, identified as Gabriel, was diagnosed at about 20 weeks’ gestation with the serious but treatable heart condition. According to Paxton’s office, the Alaska-based surrogate, McKenna West, traveled to Texas after the intended parents allegedly requested an abortion and later declined to consent to surgery following the child’s birth. West is seeking legal authority to make medical decisions for the baby.
Paxton’s office obtained an emergency order that bars anyone from refusing necessary treatment or removing the child from Texas while the court considers the dispute. The attorney general also notified UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Medical Center of Dallas that physicians have an independent legal duty to provide emergency, life-sustaining treatment. HLHS is commonly treated through a series of surgeries beginning with the Norwood procedure shortly after birth.
The case also raises questions about how Texas law governing surrogacy and parental authority applies to medical decisions involving a seriously ill newborn.
Previously, the UOJ reported that the world’s most premature baby celebrated his first birthday.
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