Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has intervened in a Dallas County case involving an unborn child, a surrogate and a pair of “intended parents.” “Baby Gabriel,” as the unborn child is called in the Tuesday press release, was diagnosed in utero with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a severe birth defect where the left side of the heart is too underdeveloped to properly pump blood to the body.
According to the U.S. Senate candidate’s statement, the child is likely to be born “imminently” and that HLHS typically requires three staged surgeries after birth, beginning with the Norwood procedure. The baby was reportedly diagnosed with the condition at about 20 weeks gestation.
Paxton’s office says the defect is treatable. Without treatment, the defect is fatal within the first few days of the baby’s life; however, according to some reports, babies who receive an established medical protocol upon birth have up to a 70% chance of surviving past age five…