A newborn’s severe heart condition has triggered a federal intervention in Texas over whether disability can influence decisions about life-saving care. The US Department of Health and Human Services warned Children’s Medical Center Dallas and UT Southwestern that federal civil-rights law prohibits denying medically appropriate treatment because of a disability, including decisions involving life support, as doctors determine care for baby Gabriel, who was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The case began after his intended parents allegedly asked surrogate McKenna West to terminate the pregnancy following the diagnosis; she refused, travelled to Texas to give birth, and state Attorney General Ken Paxton later secured a court order aimed at ensuring the baby received necessary care. The dispute has now moved far beyond one Texas hospital room, raising a much larger question about how disability, medical judgment and the law intersect at the very beginning of life.