The Trump administration has stepped into a poignant legal clash over a surrogate’s determination to save a child diagnosed with a serious heart condition, going against the biological parents’ decision to terminate the pregnancy.

According to the New York Post, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights has issued a stern directive to hospitals in Texas, mandating that they provide essential medical care to the newborn. The baby, delivered by McKenna West, is at the center of this heart-wrenching narrative.

Despite requests from biological parents Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, West delivered the child, whom she has affectionately named Baby Gabriel, in Dallas on a recent Wednesday.

Gilkar and Ahmed had initially urged West to end the pregnancy upon learning their unborn child was afflicted with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition that, while serious, is addressable.

Determined to give the child a chance at life, West traveled to Texas to deliver him. Her efforts have garnered the support of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has successfully obtained a court order guaranteeing that Baby Gabriel receives necessary medical treatment post-birth.

Now Trump officials have thrown their support behind the order and said that they would be sending a letter to Children’s Medical Center for Dallas and UT Southwestern Medical Center over the baby’s medical treatment. 

The HHS’ civil rights office informed the two Texas hospitals that federal law prohibits withholding medical treatment based on a person’s disability. 

Those federal protections, which included the withholding of treatment based on a judgement that the life of someone with a disability has less value or would be a burden on others, extend to decisions involving life-sustaining treatment, HHS told Fox News. 

According to the outlet, HHS said it would be monitoring Gabriel’s case and offering technical assistance to both hospitals as they determine his care. 

The agency also urged the hospitals to seek a review by an infant care committee should doctors withhold or withdraw medical treatment, Fox reported. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had also told UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Medical Center of Dallas of their legal obligations to provide Gabriel with ‘medically necessary, life-saving care upon birth,’ according to the outlet. 

‘The court has made the right decision in immediately acting to protect baby Gabriel’s life and ensure he receives the care he deserves,’ Paxton said following a court order ensuring Gabriel’s after-birth care. 

‘My office utilized every tool at our disposal to protect life, and we will not back down in continuing to support baby Gabriel’s well-being. Every child in our state deserves to be cared for and protected, and that’s exactly what I’ll fight for.’

Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, also supported West and dubbed her a ‘hero’ on X.   

‘McKenna West is a hero in my book. She saved this baby’s life, and I am praying she gets to keep baby Gabriel. That baby cannot go back to the California couple who wanted him dead. Surrogacy is weird and unnatural in the first place, so I default to a simple logic: Your womb, your baby,’ he wrote. 

The couple told TMZ on Thursday that they have physical custody of the child and their lawyer, Lee Bunder, told the outlet that Gabriel is receiving medical care in their custody. 

Bunder added that his clients are focused on the baby’s health and following the advice of medical professionals about treatment for his hypoplastic left heart syndrome. 

The couple became concerned after a 20-week ultrasound revealed that he would have the birth defect.

West did some research and found a hospital in Dallas that has had a 100 percent success rate in recent years with the first of three surgeries a baby would need right after birth.

Babies who undergo that first surgery have a 75 percent chance of making it to the age of five, and those who make it to their first birthday have a 90 percent chance of making it to the age of 18, according to New York Presbyterian Hospital.  

West then told her contacts at Connecticut-based Worldwide Surrogacy Specialist LLC that she could live with a friend in Texas to mitigate costs to Gilkar and Ahmed.

But a liaison at the agency told her the couple was still concerned about the baby’s future quality of life living with the heart condition.

West then received a call from the liaison telling her the parents officially requested she undergo an abortion – something she was morally against.

As she would be 24 weeks pregnant at the time of the abortion, West said in court documents she was appalled at the idea that doctors would inject the baby with ‘a solution that will stop his heart and then he’ll be literally ripped apart and dismembered as he’s taken from [her] uterus.’ 

As West continued to struggle with the biological parents’ request, her brother reached out to her and offered to adopt the child.

West then flew down to Texas to deliver the child and seek legal protections, as Texas state law recognizes anyone who gives birth in the state as the legal mother of that child.

However, Tuesday’s ruling forbids her from making any medical decisions for or on behalf of the child and states the child’s biological parents can make medical decisions on behalf of their son.

The two parties are now due back in court on August 25. 

A landmark decision unfolded on Thursday as a New York City Police Department officer was convicted of illegal restraint, including strangulation and a banned chokehold. This case marks the first conviction under the city’s 2020 legislation, which was introduced following the widespread outcry over the murder of George Floyd by officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis.

Officer Omar Habib faced conviction for violating a law that specifically prohibits certain physical restraint methods used by police. In addition to this, he was found guilty of a second-degree felony for strangulation and a misdemeanor charge of third-degree assault.

The serious nature of the felony strangulation charge subjects Habib to a maximum potential sentence of seven years of imprisonment. Bronx Criminal Supreme Court Judge Cynthia Isales has denied him bail, emphasizing the severity of the offenses.

After his felony conviction, Habib, who had been previously suspended without pay, was officially dismissed from the force. His career with the NYPD, which began in 2007, ended as a legal consequence of his criminal actions, adhering strictly to regulatory requirements.

He was responding to a 911 call at a Bronx catering hall on July 28, 2023, when a drunk and disorderly man resisted arrest, according to Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark. Prosecutors said Habib put the man in a chokehold so tight that it impeded his breathing and circulation and caused him to lose consciousness.

Habib’s attorney argued during the trial that other factors could have caused the man to pass out, such as drinking without eating enough food.

Before his arrest, Habib had a history of substantiated misconduct complaints about excessive use of force and abusing his authority.

The Civilian Complaint Review Board substantiated an allegation that Habib used a chokehold in a separate 2017 encounter. Habib was also accused of lying under oath and tampering with evidence in a 2016 gun raid, resulting in several defendants withdrawing their guilty pleas.

The president of the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, Patrick Hendry, denounced Thursday’s verdict.

The officer’s conviction was “further proof of a grim reality: every second police officers spend on this job puts them at risk of criminal prosecution, and pervasive anti-police propaganda has made it incredibly difficult to receive a fair trial,” the police union boss said, according to the New York Daily News.

Habib was charged under a 2020 city law that was passed after Floyd’s murder in May of that year, sparking racial justice protests and a push for police accountability across the country. The New York City measure criminalizes chokeholds and certain forms of pressure on an arrestee’s chest or back that compress the diaphragm while an officer is making or attempting an arrest.

The law was challenged by police unions but was upheld by New York state’s highest court in 2023.

Police use of chokeholds was already prohibited in most cases by NYPD policy when the law was enacted, but officers who used them were almost never prosecuted.

NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo lost his job but faced no criminal charges after a department disciplinary proceeding found that he used a prohibited chokehold on Eric Garner, who died during a 2014 arrest after repeatedly saying he could not breathe, fueling protests over police use of force.

Karmelo Anthony’s defense team struck a strategic deal with Texas prosecutors, known as a “gentleman’s agreement,” aimed at keeping certain evidence under wraps during his trial. This move is part of Anthony’s ongoing effort to overturn his conviction for the murder of Austin Metcalf.

This agreement sought to focus the trial strictly on events that transpired “under the tent” on April 2, 2025. This is a reference to the stabbing incident at Kuykendall Stadium in Frisco, Texas, according to documents reviewed by the Daily Mail.

Described in legal documents, the “gentleman’s agreement” prevented both defense and prosecution from delving into the backgrounds and personal histories of both Metcalf and Anthony.

Filed in recent weeks, court papers reveal Anthony’s new legal team argued the initial defense avoided discussing the significant domestic violence Anthony had witnessed and endured within his family, due to this agreement.

Mike Howard, representing Anthony during his murder trial, concurred not to present evidence related to the character, reputation, or unrelated violent and racially charged actions of the Metcalf twins, according to the court documents.

Prosecutors wouldn’t mention Anthony’s school disciplinary history and wouldn’t use his cellphone records under the terms of the agreement.

The deal also imposed restrictions on Anthony’s character witnesses at the trial, according to the outlet. 

Jeff Metcalf, Austin Metcalf’s father, refused to comment “on ongoing court proceedings,” when approached by the Mail.

“I and the entire prosecution team conducted this trial ethically and in full compliance with the Court’s rulings and any agreements with defense counsel,” Bill Wirskye,  the First Assistant at Collin County District Attorney’s Office, told KXAS-TV last month after news of the “gentleman’s agreement” emerged.

The agreement emerged as Anthony’s team of civil rights attorneys – including veteran appellate attorney Russell Wilson, civil rights lawyer Brooke Cluse from Ben Crump Law – try to secure a fresh trial.

Anthony’s lawyers are gearing up for a recusal hearing which will take place on Wednesday in McKinney, Texas.

They are trying to discharge Judge John Roach – who oversaw 19-year-old Anthony’s murder trial – and are claiming his public comments infringed judicial impartiality. 

Roach, an elected judge, stood by his decision not to allow cameras into the courtroom as he spoke about the case two days after Anthony was sentenced.

“Yes, it was an easy decision. I’ll tell you why, my primary goal in every case is to make sure the defendant and the prosecution get a fair trial. Period,” he emphatically told WFAA on June 11.

“I have seen from other cases around the country where cameras in the courtroom changed the way that the judge acted, the lawyers act, [and] some of the witnesses acted.

“We were not going to have that here.”

Roach also said the jury came to the correct conclusion because “they were picked based upon the law.”

“They listened to the facts, it happened in this courtroom, and they got a verdict,” the judge, who is retiring on Dec. 31, added.

If Roach is recused, then Anthony’s defense team would file a motion for a new trial, expected to be the following day.

This will be ruled on by August 24. Under Texas law, a court has 75 days from the date of sentencing to rule on a new trial motion. The motion is denied if a judge doesn’t act.

In a surprising revelation, a couple with an astonishing family of 37 children shared insights into their extraordinary lives and hinted at the possibility of welcoming even more members. The duo opened up about the challenges and triumphs of parenting such a large brood.

Residing in Falling Waters, West Virginia, Paul and Jeane Briggs have a remarkable story that includes adopting 32 children alongside the five they have biologically. Their journey is a testament to the power and reach of familial love.

The couple, Paul, aged 71, and Jeane, 69, admitted that managing the diverse needs of children ranging from ages 10 to 47 isn’t a walk in the park. Despite the complexities, they’re not ruling out the chance of expanding their family further.

“If someone knocked on my door with a child… I’d prefer one that’s not a baby,” Jeane humorously remarked in an interview with People, capturing her candid disposition.

Reflecting on their beginnings, Paul shared that when they tied the knot back in 1976—five years after their first meeting at a youth Methodist leaders’ conference—such a large family was never part of their dreams.

According to the dad-of-37, it just happened. 

‘There was never any talk of a mega-family,’ he said. ‘There was never this, “Well, let’s try to get to this number or that number.” It was really just a series of events that continued to bring more children in.’

He explained that after welcoming five biological kids, they decided to adopt a blind baby boy from Mexico who had been ‘abandoned.’

After that, they became devoted to taking care of children in need, particularly, those who are older or hard to place because of disabilities or illnesses.

They’ve cared for children with cancer, polio, scoliosis, leg deformities, kidney problems, learning disabilities and autism, among other medical conditions. 

They currently have 14 kids living in their 5,000-plus-square-foot-home, and Paul told People that everyone has set chores they have to do to keep things running smoothly.

‘When you have that many people under one roof, if they don’t have anything to do, they’re going to find something to do,’ he said.

Grocery shopping requires a ‘structured routine,’ and the older children take turns helping as ‘Jeane’s assistants.’

Cooking for so many people is a massive task, but Jeane vowed that food is her ‘love language’ so she enjoys it.

They have two stoves and several fridges and freezers in the home to store all of the food. 

Despite the difficulties, Paul and Jeane have insisted that they’ve mastered taking care of such a busy household.

‘We’ve heard parents joke that they struggle to get one or two children to church on time, while our entire family regularly arrives early,’ they told People.

Their daughter Mary Kate, 43, admitted that having so many siblings ‘was a lot’ while she was growing up, but added that it was ‘always very positive.’

She has now taken on a similar lifestyle and has 14 kids of her own.

‘Through it all, I have only the utmost regard for my parents. They have handled it very well and they’ve been thrown a lot,’ she gushed.

‘But because of how they’ve lived and what they’ve seen and how they’ve handled every situation, it’s truly remarkable.’

Back in 2014, the couple revealed to Today that they spend roughly $52,000 a year on groceries alone. 

At the time, Paul said he had a ‘very, very good job’ with a credit card processing company, while Jeane, who has a background in nursing and teaching, was a stay-at-home mom. 

He added that his employer pays the family $10,000 for every child they adopt. 

‘I enjoy it. This is my career. I say to my kids, you’re the very air I breathe so I need you, I need that oxygen,’ Jeane gushed of being a stay-at-home mom at the time.