Baby Gabriel born in Dallas as multi-state surrogacy dispute continues

DALLAS - A baby born in Dallas on Wednesday is at the center of a national story involving a California couple, a surrogate mother from Alaska, several hospitals, lawyers, court orders, and the Texas Attorney General.

Baby Gabriel born in Texas

What's new:

Baby Gabriel, the newborn at the center of this legal debate, was born at a Dallas hospital on Wednesday.

There’s been no word yet on how he’s doing or if he has undergone any surgeries.

However, a Dallas family law judge has ruled that the surrogate who gave birth to him cannot make any decisions about his medical care.

The backstory:

Baby Gabrial’s surrogate mother, McKenna West, moved from Alaska to Texas after he was diagnosed in utero with hydroplastic left heart syndrome, a serious heart defect that typically requires multiple heart surgeries soon after the baby is born.

West likely picked Texas for a number of reasons, including the state’s strict abortion laws.

She claimed the California couple that paid her to carry their baby initially tried to force her to abort the pregnancy. The couple has publicly denied that, and claims by Texas Attorney General Paxton that they refused to consent to heart surgery for the baby.

In any case, Paxton sent a letter to UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Medical Center of Dallas to remind them they are legally obligated to provide necessary care for the child.

"Baby Gabriel deserves a chance at life, and I will not allow anyone to unlawfully deny him medically necessary care," Paxton said.

What they're saying:

Both sides seem to be claiming victory now that Baby Gabriel was born. 

The attorney for the intended parents criticized Paxton and praised the Dallas family law judge’s most recent ruling.

"As if the heartbreak of his condition were not enough, they are devastate to see their family tragedy transformed into political theater by the Texas Attorney General’s Office and McKenna West. Our clients’ only focus at this time is ensuring that their baby receives the medical care that he vitally needs," said Lee Budner, the couple’s lawyer.

In contrast, the group representing McKenna has called Paxton a patriot.

"It’s an honor and privilege to represent McKenna in her courageous stand for Baby Gabriel’s life. Every life matters. No woman should be forced to kill the baby she is carrying," said Erik Baptist, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom. "We are thrilled that the court’s order allows for Baby Gabriel to receive the surgery necessary to save his life."

Big picture view:

Rachel Rebouche is the G. Rollie White Chair in Law at the University of Texas’s School of Law. She said these kinds of fights involving abortion and surrogacy don’t happen often.

"Most surrogacy contracts deal with the possibility of fetal anomaly as a possible, the question of whether or not to terminate a pregnancy or even if a pregnancy terminates involuntary in the case of miscarriage and the like," she said. "And we have seen cases where surrogates have not wanted to terminate a pregnancy have felt pressured to do so and have moved to places where they thought there might be more of a legal framework or a culture that would support that choice. It’s rare, but it has happened."

What's next:

There will be another hearing in a Dallas family court on Aug. 25.

While it’s not fully clear what will happen at that hearing, there are still some unresolved issues.

Three states are now involved in parental rights and decisions about the child – Texas where the baby was born, Alaska where the surrogate is from, and California where the parents are from.

There will almost certainly be decisions made on who gets to carry out the treatment plan for the child’s heart condition.

Lastly, who gets custody? Will the baby stay in Texas or be moved to California? And for the person or persons who do not get custody, will there be any visitation rights?   

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