The couple who hired McKenna West as a surrogate and allegedly demanded that she have an abortion after the baby was diagnosed with a rare heart condition are now the child’s legal custodians, according to reports, though the surrogate is continuing to fight for access to the baby.
West, a 28-year-old nurse from Alaska, gave birth to the baby last Wednesday in Dallas, Texas, the state she reportedly traveled to for protection after the Los Angeles couple who hired her as a surrogate requested that she have an abortion, according to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The couple’s legal team denies that they tried to force West to have an abortion.
Months before the birth, the couple, identified in court documents as Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, learned that the baby had been diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a rare congenital condition in which the left side of the heart doesn’t fully develop, typically requiring a series of three surgeries beginning shortly after birth. The baby was diagnosed with the condition at 20 weeks of pregnancy.
West said she refused to have the abortion and traveled to Texas, where Paxton secured a court order stating that the child must receive “medically indicated stabilizing and life-sustaining care” after birth. The order also prevents the discharge or transfer of the child while he is receiving medical care. A separate temporary restraining order, however, granted Gilkar and Ahmed responsibility for the baby’s medical decisions and physical custody, and bars West from making medical decisions on the child’s behalf or exercising possession of him, according to CBS News.
“Baby Gabriel deserves a chance at life, and I will not allow anyone to unlawfully deny him medically necessary care,” Paxton said in a statement. “My office will use every tool available to protect innocent lives and ensure that every child receives the care required under Texas law.”
Gilkar and Ahmed’s attorney, Lee Budner, confirmed the baby is now in the couple’s physical custody. “Our clients’ son was born yesterday morning and he is now in their physical custody while he receives expert medical care at a tertiary care center,” Budner said in a statement. “Thankfully, McKenna West’s baseless attempt to interfere with his medical care has been soundly rejected by the courts.”
“McKenna gave birth after courageously refusing the contracting parents’ demand that she abort him because of his serious but treatable heart condition,” pro-life advocate Lila Rose, founder and president of Live Action, said in a statement provided to The Christian Post.
Rose expressed sadness over a temporary restraining order that she said “prevented McKenna from seeing or holding the baby she carried and fought to protect.”
“But Gabriel is doing well, and because of a separate court order, he is now on the path to receiving the life-saving medical care he needs,” the pro-life advocate stated. “Please pray for this precious baby boy and for McKenna.”
Gilkar and Ahmed say that the baby’s legal name is Rumi, KABC reports.
A hearing on the remaining custody and long-term medical decisions is scheduled for Aug. 25, according to The Texas Tribune.
Budner also criticized the attention the case has drawn. “As if the heartbreak of his condition were not enough, they are devastated to see their family tragedy transformed into political theater by the Texas Attorney General’s office and McKenna West,” he said, according to ABC News.
In a statement to The Texas Tribune, West’s attorney, Lincoln Wilson, said his client doesn’t have access to the baby. Wilson also explained that West matched with Gilkar and Ahmed through Connecticut-based Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists, LLC.
According to West’s attorney, his client’s relationship with the couple deteriorated after they allegedly demanded that West have an abortion following the baby’s diagnosis.
“She described it as fear because basically she was going to be asked to do something to the child that she carried that was fundamentally offensive to her, and she couldn’t imagine ending the life of the child that she carried inside her,” Wilson said.
The day before the baby was born, the LA couple who hired West filed a temporary restraining order. The order prevents West from “representing that she is the child’s parent, guardian, or medical decision-maker to anyone…”
According to the order, West is also restrained from “[m]aking or attempting to make any medical decision for or on behalf of the child…,” and from “[e]xercising any possession of the child.
A hearing on the matter is scheduled to take place on Aug. 25, The Texas Tribune reported on Wednesday.
Gilkar and Ahmed’s legal team denies that the couple tried to force West to have an abortion. The birth parents argue that court documents filed in Alaska on July 20 show that West initially agreed to the abortion herself. According to the Texas Tribune, the surrogacy contract West signed included a clause allowing the intended parents to choose abortion in the event of a fetal anomaly.
“After heartbreaking consultations with medical providers and their own research about the suffering and quality of life HLHS babies endure, A.B. and C.D. (birth parents) made the difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy,” the court filing reads.
“It is undisputed that West initially agreed and that she herself made the initial appointment,” the document continues. “She then unilaterally changed her mind, cut off all contact with A.B. and C.D., and withdrew medical releases allowing A.B. and C.D. to have contact with all medical providers.”
The filing also accuses West of “harming Rumi by relocating to Texas,” claiming that the couple had decided that West should deliver the baby in California and have the child begin treatment there.
The attorney representing the surrogate said that West’s brother guided his sister through the legal process and suggested that she could adopt the child.
According to Wilson, West is the child’s lawful parent because “she gave birth to this child that she carries in Texas,” adding that means “she should control custody as well.”
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
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