by Rene Rabeder, Statement
The boy whose commissioning parents demanded a late-term abortion has been born in Texas and is awaiting heart surgery. The woman who carried him and refused to end his life is forbidden from seeing or holding him
A boy whose biological parents wanted him aborted after he was diagnosed with a serious heart defect was born in Dallas, Texas, on 12 August. According to the Associated Press, the baby is being stabilized before receiving heart surgery.
The boy was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome in the 20th week of pregnancy. Without treatment, the condition can lead to death within days or weeks. However, a series of medical interventions allows many of those affected to live into adulthood.
One day before the birth, a court in Dallas ordered that the child be given all the medically necessary and life-sustaining treatment. No one may refuse, delay or obstruct his care. His transfer out of the hospital or out of Texas also remains prohibited for the time being.
Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton had intervened because, in his view, the commissioning parents had not given binding consent to the necessary heart surgery. “Every child in our state deserves care and protection”, Paxton said after the ruling.
At the same time, the commissioning couple asserted their rights as the legal parents. A judge barred McKenna West, his surrogate mother, from making medical decisions for the boy or presenting herself as his mother. According to her lawyer, she is not allowed to see or hold the newborn.
She Saved Him, but Cannot See Him
West had carried the boy for nine months, resisted the requested abortion and sought a hospital in Texas with pediatric heart surgery. The Californian couple is now with the child, while the woman who gave birth to him is denied access. Even the boy’s name is disputed. West and Paxton call him Gabriel. The commissioning parents say his name is Rumi.
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