Paxton Secures Emergency Order Protecting Newborn Baby Diagnosed With Heart Condition

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has intervened in a Dallas County case to protect the life of a newborn baby boy who was diagnosed in utero with a serious heart condition.

The child, known as baby Gabriel, was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped.

The baby was born on Wednesday to McKenna West, who is a surrogate from Alaska, CBS News reported.

Treatment for Gabriel’s condition will require three staged surgeries, beginning with the Norwood procedure.

Information provided to Paxton’s office shows that Gabriel was diagnosed at 20 weeks’ gestation. The intended parents, who reside in California and are using a surrogate, requested during the pregnancy that Gabriel be terminated. Following their request, the surrogate mother traveled to Texas to seek protection and ensure that Gabriel could receive the lifesaving surgery he needed to survive. 

The intended parents have refused to consent to the surgery and may attempt to transport Gabriel out of Texas to prevent him from receiving the procedure, according to Paxton’s office.

After learning of the situation, Paxton filed an intervention in the case and asked a district court to prohibit Gabriel from being removed from the state.

On Tuesday afternoon, Paxton announced that a Dallas County judge had entered an emergency temporary order preventing Gabriel from being removed from Texas.

Under the emergency order, Texas law governs the child’s parentage, protection, and medical decision-making. Now that Gabriel has been born, Susan Dueslar will be appointed as the guardian ad litem for the child.

The court also ordered that “upon the child’s live birth, medically indicated stabilizing and life-sustaining care shall be provided to the child pending further order of this Court. No person shall withhold, direct the withholding of, obstruct, or delay that care.”

Paxton applauded the court’s order, saying his office will continue to protect Gabriel.

“The court has made the right decision in immediately acting to protect baby Gabriel’s life and ensure he receives the care he deserves,” Paxton said. “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.” 

In addition to the intervention, Paxton sent a letter to UT Southwestern Medical Center and the Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, reminding the hospitals of their legal obligations to provide lifesaving care to Gabriel.

“Where a parent refuses consent to medically indicated treatment, the authority to override that refusal belongs to the State and to the State alone,” the letter reads. “A hospital cannot override a refusal on its own authority, and neither can a physician outside an emergency. Where time permits, the proper course is court intervention. Texas courts have entered exactly those orders, including appointing a governmental entity as temporary managing conservator with authority to consent to treatment over the family’s objection.”

Kimberlyn Schwartz, director of media and communications for Texas Right to Life, told the Daily Signal that Paxton is right to protect Gabriel.

“The attorney general absolutely did the right thing here,” Schwartz said. “A child’s life is worth more than a contract.”

“This case exposes big problems with surrogacy: A woman is treated as a reproductive contractor, and a baby is treated as a product for sale,” she continued. “Baby Gabriel and every other child conceived in surrogacy have infinite worth that no legal contract can cancel.”

The order will remain in effect until further order from the court.

Editor’s note: This article was updated at 5:38 p.m.