A Contract to Kill?
The heartbreaking story of Baby Gabriel has brought renewed attention to a troubling reality of commercial surrogacy: What happens when a child no longer meets the expectations of the people who commissioned his birth?
At approximately 20 weeks in the womb, Gabriel was diagnosed with a serious congenital heart condition requiring multiple surgeries. After learning of his diagnosis, his intended parents demanded that McKenna abort him. Thankfully, McKenna refused to kill the child she was carrying.
Gabriel’s story exposes the inherent commodification at the heart of surrogacy arrangements. Brokers are hired, contracts are signed, money changes hands, embryos are transferred, and a baby becomes the object of a commercial transaction. When something goes wrong—when the “product” does not meet expectations—the buyers demand to cancel their order.
And here we begin to see the shadow of eugenics. When a child’s chance to be born depends on his or her perceived “quality,” we are making a judgment about what kind of life is worth living. But human dignity is not earned by health, intelligence, independence, or perfection; it is inherent in every person because we are made in the image of God.
Children are a gift from God—not a right to which we are entitled and not products ordered to specification. A gift is received with gratitude; a product is evaluated against expectations.
Please pray for Baby Gabriel and McKenna as they continue to navigate this heartbreaking situation.
What happened to Baby Gabriel?
Determined to protect Gabriel and give him a chance to live, McKenna left Alaska for Texas, where she sought legal protection and lifesaving medical care for the baby. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened, and a court ordered that Gabriel receive life-sustaining treatment after birth.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights reminded the hospitals caring for Gabriel that federal law prohibits withholding life-sustaining treatment because of a person’s disability—or because of a judgment that life with a disability is not worth living.
Gabriel arrived three weeks early and was admitted to the NICU. His “intended parents,” who are also his biological parents, now call him Rumi. Yesterday, August 17, he underwent the first major surgery for his heart condition. The intended parents currently have physical custody and medical decision-making authority. Their attorney says the baby is recovering “under the loving care of his parents”—the same people who demanded that he be killed because they believed he was defective.
McKenna is not allowed to see him. Her attorneys have indicated that she intends to continue challenging that determination and seeking parental rights in Texas.