Baby with heart defect at center of US surrogacy dispute handed to parents

Biological parents given custody of child born in Texas amid dispute over surrogate mother’s claim of abortion request

A two-day-old baby with a rare heart defect at the center of a complex surrogacy dispute in Texas has been handed over to the parents’ custody and is receiving care, lawyers for the parents said on Friday.

The baby has hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a defect that requires surgeries to correct. The baby was born on Wednesday to surrogate mother McKenna West of Alaska after she reportedly refused requests to get an abortion from the biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed of California – requests they deny making.

West traveled to Dallas county, Texas , “for protection” and to ensure that the child “could be near doctors experienced in treating his condition”.

She told the anti-abortion news outlet Live Action that it was “scary” to think that she, as the one giving birth, “may be the one that’s not able to make a decision about the treatment”.

Texas’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, intervened, seeking to ensure that the then unborn baby received life-saving medical treatment over any objections of the intended parents.

Paxton secured a court order ruling that life-saving medical care would be provided to the baby, whom he referred to as Gabriel.

He said in a statement that his office “utilized every tool at our disposal to protect life, and we will not back down in continuing to support baby Gabriel’s well-being. Every child in our state deserves to be cared for and protected, and that’s exactly what I’ll fight for.”

Paxton added that “Baby Gabriel deserves a chance at life, and I will not allow anyone to unlawfully deny him medically necessary care” and that his office “will use every tool available to protect innocent lives and ensure that every child receives the care required under Texas law”.

But now the baby is with the biological parents, whom the birth mother claims sought his termination.

“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,” attorney Lee Budner said in a statement to CBS News on Thursday.

Budner said that West’s attempt “to interfere” with the baby’s medical care had been rejected by the courts and his clients “are continuing to place their baby’s health and well-being first”.

In comments to the Texas Tribune, Budner accused Paxton and West of transforming a family tragedy into “political theater”.

West has been denied contact with the child, her attorney Lincoln Davis Wilson told the outlet, but she intended to continue efforts to gain custody of the child.

“We are working on challenging those orders of parentage because we think that Texas law makes a woman who gives birth to a child, the mother of the child,” he said.

West went on the Megyn Kelly podcast last week, saying that after being contacted by a surrogacy agency she had spoken with the couple who indicated “if something came up … termination would not be their first choice”.

“I felt very trapped due to this contract. I felt like I had no voice,” West said, referring to a surrogacy agreement. “But I knew in my soul, in my heart that I wanted to protect this little boy.”