A surrogacy battle playing out in Dallas, Texas, is getting national attention and taking a new turn. The baby at the center of the dispute was born Wednesday, and now the fight is over who should care for him.
Background of the Dispute
The battle started with a surrogacy agreement and a diagnosis earlier this year that changed everything. McKenna West, an Alaska nurse, was carrying a baby for a California couple when at about 20 weeks, doctors diagnosed the baby with a serious heart defect that will require multiple surgeries.
West’s attorneys said the biological parents pressured her to end the pregnancy. However, West, a pro-life advocate, refused, sharing her story with the anti-abortion organization Live Action.
“I didn’t think that I could live with myself doing that,” McKenna said. West left Alaska and went to Texas, where her attorney said she found specialists who could treat the baby’s condition.
“She chose that hospital because she wanted the best care for him possible,” attorney Lincoln Wilson said. But the biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, dispute West’s account of what happened after the diagnosis and deny that they intended to refuse surgery once the baby was born.
Court Intervention
The battle moved into court, and on Tuesday, the State of Texas intervened. Hours later, a Dallas judge sided with the State, ordering that the baby receive life-sustaining medical care in Texas. He was born Wednesday in Dallas.
The biological parents now have custody. “That means that, right now, she’s in limbo where she’s carried this child for 37 weeks, fought desperately to save his life against great challenges and a great risk to herself and now she doesn’t even get to hold, touch, see the baby at all,” Wilson told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.
Lee Budner, an attorney for the biological parents, said in a statement: “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. Thankfully, McKenna West’s baseless attempt to interfere with his medical care has been soundly rejected by the courts.
Right now, our clients are continuing to place their baby’s health and well-being first, following the advice of the baby’s medical team, as they always have and just as any loving parent would. 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.
Future of the Case
West’s attorney says she wants custody of the child. “We do believe that she is the mother under Texas law because that’s what Texas law says. If you give birth to a child, you are the child’s mother,” Wilson said. A California court has already ruled the baby’s biological parents are the child’s legal parents. But West’s attorney is challenging that ruling.
“We think that judgment flagrantly violated due process. It pulled Ms. West into an expedited proceeding from 2,000 miles away on two days notice,” Wilson said. Wilson said he’s prepared to take the case the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary.
Original reporting: NBC4 Los Angeles — read the source article.
