Baby with rare heart defect born in Texas amid surrogacy and parental rights dispute
A baby at the center of a multistate legal dispute involving abortion, surrogacy and parental rights was born Wednesday in Dallas, one day after a judge ordered that the newborn receive life-sustaining medical care in Texas.
McKenna West, an Alaska nurse who served as the surrogate for a California couple, was about 20 weeks pregnant when doctors diagnosed the baby with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare and potentially life-threatening heart defect requiring multiple surgeries. West has alleged that the baby's biological parents invoked an abortion provision in their surrogacy agreement and pressured her to terminate the pregnancy. West refused and later traveled to Texas, where she sought specialists capable of treating the baby's condition.
West's attorney, Lincoln Wilson, said she chose Texas because she wanted the child to receive the best possible medical care. Her case received backing from anti-abortion organizations and Republican officials, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office intervened in the dispute and sought an order requiring the baby to receive life-saving treatment after birth and remain in Texas.
A Dallas judge granted that request Tuesday, ordering that the newborn receive life-sustaining care in the state.
The biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, have disputed West's characterization of their actions and denied that they intended to withhold surgery from their child. They said doctors had told them it was not yet possible to determine whether the baby would be a candidate for open-heart surgery.
Ahmed said the couple wanted to consult directly with the doctors caring for their child so they could make informed medical decisions as the baby's parents.
The baby was born Wednesday in Dallas and is now in the custody of the biological parents while receiving medical treatment. West's attorney said she has not been allowed to see or hold the child and described her situation as uncertain after carrying the baby for 37 weeks.
An attorney for Gilkar and Ahmed said the newborn is receiving expert medical care and accused West and Paxton of turning the family's tragedy into a political dispute. The attorney said the parents' focus remains on their child's health and spending time with their newborn.
West's legal team is also seeking custody and arguing that she should be recognized as the child's mother under Texas law because she gave birth to the baby.
A California court has previously ruled that Gilkar and Ahmed are the child's legal parents. West's attorney is challenging that decision, arguing that West's rights were not adequately protected during an expedited proceeding conducted while she was thousands of miles away.
Wilson has said he is prepared to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. For now, the biological parents retain custody while the legal battle over West's role in the child's life continues.
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome occurs when the left side of the heart does not properly develop during pregnancy, preventing normal blood flow. Without treatment, the condition can cause severe complications and can be fatal within days or weeks.
Treatment generally involves multiple complex surgeries designed to restore blood flow and improve heart function. The procedures do not necessarily cure the condition, and some children may eventually require additional surgery or a heart transplant. About 925 babies in the United States are born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome each year.
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