Trump Administration Joins Fight for Texas Newborn Whose Surrogate Mother Refused to Abort Him

President Donald Trump’s administration is taking action in the case of a surrogate mother who refused an alleged request from the baby’s biological parents to abort him once he was diagnosed with a severe heart defect.

The case involving surrogate mother McKenna West and the child whom she called baby Gabriel, has drawn a lot of attention, Fox News reported Thursday, noting West has since traveled to Texas where she gave birth on Wednesday.

“The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights told Fox News Digital Thursday it is sending a letter to Children’s Medical Center of Dallas and UT Southwestern Medical Center outlining their obligations under federal disability civil rights laws as doctors make treatment decisions involving baby Gabriel,” the outlet said, noting that before he was born, the baby was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

West, who is from Alaska, agreed to become a surrogate mother with Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists in September as a way to make extra money, Breitbart News reported August 4. When she underwent an anatomy scan during her 20th week of pregnancy, she was told of the baby’s heart condition. However, the article noted it was treatable.

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When West arrived in Texas, state Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened to have a court allow treatment for the baby that had not yet been born, Fox 7 reported.

“My office utilized every tool at our disposal to protect life, and we will not back down in continuing to support baby Gabriel’s well-being. Every child in our state deserves to be cared for and protected, and that’s exactly what I’ll fight for,” he said.

According to the Fox News article, “In its letter, HHS’ civil rights office makes clear that federal law prohibits withholding medical treatment based on a person’s disability, including based on judgments that the life of someone with a disability has less value or that the individual would impose a burden on others.”

“Those federal protections extend to decisions involving life-sustaining treatment, according to HHS,” the report added.

MRC Newsbusters analyst Jorge Bonilla pointed out Thursday that NBC News portrayed the biological parents of baby Gabriel as the victims in the situation:

According to the Fox 7 report, “Paxton’s filing states the intended parents refused to consent to heart surgery for the baby. Paxton also said the intended parents may be planning to have the baby flown to California after birth to make treatment decisions under California law.”