EXCLUSIVE — Congressional Republicans are ramping up pressure on the Trump administration to strengthen protections for infants born with disabilities following the heated custody battle between a California couple and their surrogate over a child born with a heart defect.

A total of 30 House members and nine senators from the anti-abortion wing of the GOP sent a letter, obtained by the Washington Examiner, to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday, requesting that the Trump administration create a federal standard for healthcare professionals to provide lifesaving care to infants born extremely premature or with life-limiting disabilities.