For Baby Gabriel — And Every Patient Told Their Life Is Worth Less

Dear Supporters:

Baby Gabriel was born this week with a severe heart defect. His surrogate, McKenna West, refused a request to abort him and traveled to Texas so he could be born and get care. He was taken straight to the NICU.

His own doctors then began weighing whether to withhold or withdraw his treatment, because of his disability.

It took the federal government stepping in. HHS sent a formal letter to two Texas hospitals stating plainly that federal law prohibits withholding treatment based on "judgments that the life of someone with a disability has less value or that the individual would impose a burden on others."

Read that again. Someone had to be told, in writing, by the federal government, that a baby's life isn't worth less because of his disability.

This is not rare. This is not an isolated Texas story. This is what happens every single day, in every state, to patients of every age — someone's opinion substitutes for real medical process, and a person doesn't get the care they need or deserve. Most of the time, there's no HHS letter. There's no news story. There's just a person, alone, being decided about instead of cared for.

The Medical Blacklisting Prevention Act exists because opinions should never override process — not for a newborn, not for anyone. Not ever again.

Our hearts are with Gabriel and his family. 💜

Full story:  https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/hhs-warns-texas-hospitals-against-002333549.html

If this made you angry, it should have. Pass it on and share the Petition:

https://www.change.org/End_Medical_Blacklisting

Hopeful for Changes,

Amy