Published

August 11, 2026

 

AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Alliance for Life commends Attorney General Ken Paxton for taking legal action in a Dallas County court to protect the life of Baby Gabriel, a baby boy conceived through surrogacy whose intended parents, a California couple, sought to force his surrogate mother to abort him after he was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a serious but treatable congenital heart condition. When she refused, the intended parents indicated they would refuse the life-saving surgery Gabriel needs after birth.

The surrogate mother, McKenna West, an Alaskan nurse and mother, relocated to Texas to give birth near hospitals qualified to provide the surgery Gabriel needs. The surrogacy contract was initiated under Alaska law. The California intended parents have sought to have Gabriel transported to California, where they intend to refuse the life-saving treatment for him.

Texas Alliance for Life Executive Director Amy O’Donnell released the following statement.

“We applaud Attorney General Ken Paxton for taking swift action to protect baby Gabriel’s life. No contract should have the power to require a child to die because of a disability or diagnosis. Every unborn child is valuable and worthy of protection, and we are proud to live in a state where the sanctity of human life is recognized and protected from conception to natural death. Texas Alliance for Life supports common-sense guardrails for surrogacy that protect both women and the lives of the babies they carry.”

No contract should strip the dignity of a mother by pressuring her to end the life of the child she is carrying, nor deny an unborn child the right to life simply because they are unwanted or perceived as less than perfect.

Texas Alliance for Life advocates for common-sense surrogacy guardrails that safeguard women and unborn babies at every stage of development.

 

Contact:

Amy O’Donnell

Executive Director

Amy@texasallianceforlife.org

512-477-1244 (o)

 

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