A baby born with a rare heart defect is at the center of a bitter legal dispute between the child’s biological parents and the woman who gave birth to the baby as a surrogate against their wishes.
McKenna West, 28, agreed to act as a surrogate for Los Angeles couple Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar.
The couple opted to terminate the pregnancy at around 20 weeks after it was revealed that the boy had a rare and life-threatening congenital heart condition called hypoplastic left heart syndrome, in which the left side of the heart doesn’t develop fully.
According to a copy of the surrogacy contract obtained by the Dallas Morning News, the document West signed allows for the intended parents to choose abortion in the case of a fetal anomaly.However, West refused to have an abortion and fled to Texas, a state where abortion is banned. There, she sought specialists who could treat the baby’s defect.
On Aug. 12, West gave birth to the baby in Dallas and is now seeking custody of the child.
The case drew national attention, notably from anti-abortion activists who provided West with legal representation and had helped her travel to Texas for medical care.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton got involved and took legal action, arguing in court that the biological parents were required to provide lifesaving medical care to the child under Texas law.https://ktla.com/news/california/sur...arents-wishes/The court order was successfully issued on Aug. 11, requiring that lifesaving care be provided once the baby was born. The order barred West from presenting herself as the baby’s parent or guardian and prevented her from making any medical decisions on the child’s behalf.
The order also barred West from having any contact with the child after birth, though her lawyer, Lincoln Wilson, told the Times that West plans to continue pursuing custody.
A temporary restraining order will prevent the parents from removing the child from Texas until a hearing in late August.
The baby, whom activists have called “Baby Gabriel,” while his legal parents have chosen a different name, must still undergo weeks of surgeries for hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
McKenna: https://www.facebook.com/mckenna.west.169
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