McKenna West Gives Birth in Dallas as Ken Paxton Intervenes in Three-State Surrogacy Fight Over Baby’s Medical Care and Parental Rights
A bitter legal fight involving surrogacy, abortion and parental rights reached a major turning point Wednesday when McKenna West gave birth in Dallas to the baby at the center of a dispute that has stretched across Texas, Alaska and California.
The boy was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare and life-threatening congenital heart condition that affects the development of the left side of the heart and requires multiple surgeries for survival.
West, a nurse and mother of two who lives in Alaska, had been carrying the child as a surrogate for intended parents Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar of Los Angeles.
The dispute began after doctors discovered the baby’s severe heart defect at around 20 weeks of pregnancy. The intended parents decided to terminate the pregnancy, but West refused to have an abortion.
She later traveled to Texas, where abortion is banned in nearly all circumstances, seeking specialists who could treat the baby’s condition.
Baby Born as Texas Courts Step Into Surrogacy Fight
West gave birth Wednesday at a Dallas hospital.
Anti-abortion activists who rallied around West have referred to the child as “Baby Gabriel,” although Ahmed and Gilkar chose a different name for their son.
The intended parents said through their attorney, Lee Budner, that the newborn is receiving medical care from pediatric specialists.
“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,” Budner said in a statement.
Budner said the parents “would place their baby’s health and well-being first, following the advice of the baby’s medical team.”
West, meanwhile, is seeking custody of the child.
Ken Paxton Intervenes Over Baby’s Medical Treatment
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton entered the dispute Monday, asking a Dallas County court to require the intended parents to provide lifesaving treatment to the baby after birth.
“My office will use every tool available to protect innocent lives,” Paxton said in a statement.
A Dallas judge granted a temporary restraining order preventing Ahmed and Gilkar from removing the baby from Texas until a hearing later this month. The order also requires the parents to provide “medically indicated, lifesaving treatment” to the newborn.
But the court also placed restrictions on West.
A separate restraining order prohibits her from presenting herself as the baby’s parent, guardian or medical decision-maker. Because of that order, West was not able to see or hold the child after delivery, according to her attorney, Lincoln Wilson.
“Unfortunately, because of the Texas T.R.O. that was entered yesterday, McKenna didn’t get to see or hold him after he was born,” Wilson said.
Surrogate Says She Felt Trapped by Contract
West has said she opposed having an abortion and felt trapped by the surrogacy agreement, which allowed the intended parents to request termination of the pregnancy.
“It brought up a lot of fear,” West said during an interview with former Fox News host Megyn Kelly.
Through a mutual friend, West connected with Lila Rose, president of the anti-abortion organization Live Action.
Rose said her organization helped West obtain legal assistance from Alliance Defending Freedom, a prominent Christian conservative legal group, and helped her travel to Texas for medical care.
“They were treating her baby like a product,” Rose said. “The product had a defect, and so they were trying to send it back.”
Rose said Live Action also opposes surrogacy, arguing that the practice “commoditizes human life” and can lead to situations like the one now unfolding in Texas.
Custody Fight Continues After Birth
The birth does not end the legal dispute.
West intends to continue fighting for custody, according to Wilson, while the baby faces weeks of medical treatment and potentially multiple surgeries. The case now raises a new set of legal questions about who controls the child’s care, who has parental rights and how far Texas courts can reach into a surrogacy agreement involving residents of other states.
For months, the dispute centered on whether the pregnancy would continue after the intended parents sought an abortion.
Now, with the baby born in Texas, the conflict has shifted to who has authority over his medical treatment, where he can be taken and who ultimately has the right to call him their child.
