Trump administration steps into surrogate's battle over baby with a heart defect biological parents asked her to abort

By LAUREN ACTON-TAYLOR, US NEWS REPORTER Published: 07:07, 14 August 2026 | Updated: 07:08, 14 August 2026 The Trump administration has waded into a surrogate's battle to save a baby with a heart defect who she refused to abort despite the biological parents' wishes. The Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights warned hospitals in Texas that the baby delivered by McKenna West must receive life-saving medical care, the New York Post reports. West gave birth to the child she has called Baby Gabriel in Dallas on Wednesday in violation of a request by his biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar, 43, and Omar Ahmed, 45. The couple had asked West to abort the baby after they learned he had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a treatable heart condition. West traveled to Texas to give birth and has since been supported by the state's Attorney General Ken Paxton, who managed to secure a court order to ensure Baby Gabriel would receive medical care once born. Now Trump officials have thrown their support behind the order and said that they would be sending a letter to Children's Medical Center for Dallas and UT Southwestern Medical Center over the baby's medical treatment.  The HHS' civil rights office informed the two Texas hospitals that federal law prohibits withholding medical treatment based on a person's disability.  The Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights has waded a surrogate's battle over a baby with a heart defect who she refused to abort despite the biological parents' wishes. Pictured: Surrogate mother to Baby Gabriel, McKenna West  The HHS' civil rights office informed the two Texas hospitals that federal law prohibits withholding medical treatment based on a person's disability. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr is pictured earlier this month Those federal protections, which included the withholding of treatment based on a judgement that the life of someone with a disability has less value or would be a burden on others, extend to decisions involving life-sustaining treatment, HHS told Fox News.  According to the outlet, HHS said it would be monitoring Gabriel's case and offering technical assistance to both hospitals as they determine his care.  The agency also urged the hospitals to seek a review by an infant care committee should doctors withhold or withdraw medical treatment, Fox reported.  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had also told UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Medical Center of Dallas of their legal obligations to provide Gabriel with 'medically necessary, life-saving care upon birth,' according to the outlet.  '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 following a court order ensuring Gabriel's after-birth care.  '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.' Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, also supported West and dubbed her a 'hero' on X.    'McKenna West is a hero in my book. She saved this baby's life, and I am praying she gets to keep baby Gabriel. That baby cannot go back to the California couple who wanted him dead. Surrogacy is weird and unnatural in the first place, so I default to a simple logic: Your womb, your baby,' he wrote.  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Medical Center of Dallas of their legal obligations to provide Gabriel with 'medically necessary, life-saving care upon birth' HHS officials said that they would be sending a letter to Children's Medical Center for Dallas (pictured) and UT Southwestern Medical Center over the baby's medical treatment The couple told TMZ on Thursday that they have physical custody of the child and their lawyer, Lee Bunder, told the outlet that Gabriel is receiving medical care in their custody.  Bunder added that his clients are focused on the baby's health and following the advice of medical professionals about treatment for his hypoplastic left heart syndrome.  The couple became concerned after a 20-week ultrasound revealed that he would have the birth defect. West did some research and found a hospital in Dallas that has had a 100 percent success rate in recent years with the first of three surgeries a baby would need right after birth. Babies who undergo that first surgery have a 75 percent chance of making it to the age of five, and those who make it to their first birthday have a 90 percent chance of making it to the age of 18, according to New York Presbyterian Hospital.   West then told her contacts at Connecticut-based Worldwide Surrogacy Specialist LLC that she could live with a friend in Texas to mitigate costs to Gilkar and Ahmed. But a liaison at the agency told her the couple was still concerned about the baby's future quality of life living with the heart condition. West then received a call from the liaison telling her the parents officially requested she undergo an abortion – something she was morally against. As she would be 24 weeks pregnant at the time of the abortion, West said in court documents she was appalled at the idea that doctors would inject the baby with 'a solution that will stop his heart and then he'll be literally ripped apart and dismembered as he's taken from [her] uterus.'  Although West secured the right for Gabriel to receive medical treatment after birth, she was also forbidden from having any contact with him once he arrived As West continued to struggle with the biological parents' request, her brother reached out to her and offered to adopt the child. West then flew down to Texas to deliver the child and seek legal protections, as Texas state law recognizes anyone who gives birth in the state as the legal mother of that child. However, Tuesday's ruling forbids her from making any medical decisions for or on behalf of the child and states the child's biological parents can make medical decisions on behalf of their son. The two parties are now due back in court on August 25.