Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has intervened in a Dallas County parentage case involving an unborn child diagnosed with a severe but treatable heart condition, securing an emergency court order requiring life-saving medical care upon birth.
According to the Office of the Attorney General, the child, referred to as baby Gabriel, was diagnosed in utero with hypoplastic left heart syndrome at about 20 weeks. The condition typically requires staged surgeries beginning shortly after birth. The surrogate, McKenna West of Alaska, entered a gestational agreement with intended parents from California. After the diagnosis, the intended parents allegedly requested an abortion. West refused and traveled to Texas seeking legal protection and access to specialized care.
Paxton’s office filed to intervene in the Dallas County suit, notified UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Medical Center of Dallas of their obligations to provide medically necessary care, and asked the court to order treatment upon birth while barring the child’s removal from Texas. On Tuesday, a Dallas district court issued an emergency order directing that life-saving care be provided without delay and preventing obstruction or transfer while the case proceeds. The order applies from the moment of live birth and does not adjudicate rights regarding the unborn child or limit the surrogate’s decisions about her own health.
BREAKING: I am fighting to save an unborn child diagnosed with a treatable heart condition and am demanding that Dallas hospitals provide life-saving care. pic.twitter.com/GWjEzRqYrk
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) August 11, 2026
Paxton stated that the child deserves a chance at life and that the office will use available tools to ensure care required under Texas law. A parentage dispute remains pending, including proceedings involving California.
The case continues in Dallas County court, with a guardian ad litem appointed.
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