A California couple’s surrogate who went to Texas amid escalating friction over the treatment of a congenital heart defect detected in the fetus she was carrying on their behalf has given birth, a day after a judge in Dallas ordered life-sustaining treatment for the newborn.
The baby was receiving stabilizing care and was scheduled to undergo surgery shortly after he was born at a Texas hospital on Wednesday, a lawyer for the surrogate, McKenna West, told The Associated Press.
The fetus was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome at about 20 weeks during an ultrasound, a potentially fatal heart condition, West said during an interview with former Fox News host Megyn Kelly last month.
West says the couple whose baby she was carrying wanted her to end the pregnancy after learning of the condition.
The case, hinged at the intersection of parental rights, surrogacy and abortion across three states, has drawn growing support from right-to-life groups and Republican officials since it first came to light in the spring, the New York Times reports, noting that West received funding from pro-life groups to travel to Texas from her home in Alaska to seek medical care for the unborn child.
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On Tuesday, a Texas judge implemented an emergency order that the child receive life-sustaining care after the state Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened in support of West.
“While the surrogate mother of baby Gabriel has traveled to Texas for protection and care for Gabriel, the intended parents have refused to agree that they will consent to the life-saving surgery for Gabriel after he is born,” Paxton said in a statement.
The order prevents anyone from withholding or obstructing necessary treatment, or from removing, discharging, or transferring the baby, while the court considers the case.
The court also mandated a restraining order against West, barring her from presenting herself as the baby’s parent, guardian or medical decision-maker to anyone.
Abortion is heavily restricted and not readily available in Texas.
The couple, who are the child’s legal parents, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, chose not to call the child Gabriel, according to the New York Times, and have denied that they intended to refuse surgery once the child was born, multiple U.S media outlets report, including ABC News and The Associated Press.
“As if the heartbreak of his condition were not enough, they are devastated to see their family tragedy transformed into political theatre by the Texas Attorney General’s office and McKenna West,” a lawyer for the couple, Lee Budner, said in a statement to the New York Times, adding that the parents “would place their baby’s health and well-being first, following the advice of the baby’s medical team.”
West is seeking custody of the child, the report said.
During her interview with Kelly, West, who has two children of her own, said she was against abortion and that she had signed a surrogacy agreement that stipulated the parents could opt to abort the pregnancy, but that she felt confident termination would not be “their first choice.”
West told Kelly that when the parents said they wanted to terminate, she felt “trapped” by the contract and like she had “no voice.”
“I knew in my soul, in my heart that I wanted to protect this little boy,” she said.
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is a condition in which the left side of the heart prevents normal blood flow. If untreated, the condition causes severe symptoms such as breathing problems, a weak pulse and ashen or bluish skin.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the condition must be treated with multiple complex and challenging surgeries. About 925 babies in the U.S. are born with HLHS each year, according to the CDC.
Without treatment, children affected by the heart defect can die within days or weeks. Surgical repairs are not always curative, and children may need additional surgeries or heart transplants, the CDC says.
— with files from The Associated Press
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