Baby Gabriel was born in Texas on Wednesday after his surrogate mother bravely refused demands from his biological parents to abort him over a treatable heart condition.
His birth comes one day after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stepped in to secure legal protections ensuring the baby would receive life-saving care.
Immediately following his birth, the newborn was transported to the NICU for treatment of his hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a serious congenital defect that had been diagnosed at around 20 weeks of pregnancy.
WATCH:
🚨 BREAKING: Baby Gabriel HAS BEEN BORN — after Texas AG Ken Paxton intervened because the California parents tried FORCING the surrogate mother into an abortion
She got protection in Texas!
The baby is now RAPIDLY being transported for life-saving care, who was born with a… pic.twitter.com/2iofhwP9XJ
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 12, 2026
The surrogate, McKenna West, an Alaskan nurse and single mother of two, had entered into a surrogacy agreement through Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists with the California couple, identified in court documents as Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed.
The pregnancy proceeded normally until the anatomy scan revealed the diagnosis of hypoplastic left heart syndrome, in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped and unable to pump oxygen-rich blood effectively.
Surrogate Mother Fighting to Save Baby with Treatable Heart Condition from Biological Parents Trying to Force Her to Abort
Without intervention, the condition is typically fatal within days of birth, but it is treatable through a series of staged surgeries beginning with the Norwood procedure shortly after delivery.
Hospitals with specialized expertise, including those in Dallas, have had strong success rates with these procedures in recent years, offering the baby a substantial chance at survival and a meaningful life.
Yet, the intended parents invoked the abortion provision in their agreement and attempted to force West to terminate the pregnancy.
When doctors in Alaska declined to perform a high-risk late-term abortion, arrangements were made for her to travel for the procedure elsewhere.
West refused and saved his life.
She researched the condition, learned of the expertise available in Texas, and relocated to Dallas County seeking both the legal protections given to the unborn under Texas law and access to medical teams experienced in treating the defect.
West even offered to assume full responsibility for the child or arrange adoption, releasing the couple from further obligations, but the biological parents rejected her plea.
Instead, the “parents” pursued legal action aiming to compel her to give birth in California, where they could withhold consent for the necessary surgeries to save his life.
They wanted to let him die.
Paxton’s office stepped in the day before Baby Gabriel’s birth.
HERO: Ken Paxton Intervenes in Surrogacy Fight to Protect Baby Gabriel After Biological Parents Demanded Abortion Over Treatable Heart Defect
The Attorney General formally notified UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Medical Center of Dallas of their legal duty to provide medically necessary, life-saving care upon birth regardless of the parentage dispute’s outcome.
Paxton filed a motion asking the district court to issue orders directing the baby’s medical care upon birth, barring his removal from the state, and setting an expedited hearing if the intended parents refuse consent for treatment.
His office also formally notified UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Medical Center of Dallas of their legal obligation under Texas law to provide medically necessary, life-saving care, noting that physicians may administer emergency life-sustaining treatment without parental consent or a court order and urging the hospitals to reject any attempt to transfer the newborn out of state.
Paxton stated, “Baby Gabriel deserves a chance at life, and I will not allow anyone to unlawfully deny him medically necessary care. My office will use every tool available to protect innocent lives and ensure that every child receives the care required under Texas law.”
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
One day later, Baby Gabriel was born, and as Fox News legal editor Kerri Urbahn reported in her coverage of the developments, the infant is already in the NICU and is expected to undergo the surgery at a facility with an outstanding track record of success with the procedure.
This struggle over a child’s right to life brings to mind the wisdom of King Solomon.
In the biblical account from the Book of Kings, two women went before the king, each claiming to be the mother of the same infant.
Solomon, seeking to find the truth, proposed cutting the child in two with a sword so that each could receive half.
The false claimant agreed to the division, revealing her indifference to the child’s survival, while the true mother cried out in horror, pleading that the baby be given whole to the other woman rather than harmed.
Solomon instantly recognized the genuine mother by her willingness to sacrifice her own claim to preserve the child’s life.
In the case of Baby Gabriel, the intended parents demanded abortion and later signaled their desire to withhold life-saving surgery after birth to kill the child because they believed him to be imperfect.
The surrogate mother who refused those demands, fled across state lines at personal risk, offered to take full responsibility herself, offered to give them custody if they would agree to save him, and fought in court for the medical interventions to make sure he would have a chance to live.
West may not be his biological mother, but she sure demonstrated the same protective love that Solomon identified as the mark of the true parent.
God bless Baby Gabriel, McKenna West, and Ken Paxton.
We are praying for his operations to be a success.
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