health
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
TL;DR
- A two-day-old baby with a rare heart defect has been placed in the custody of his biological parents in Texas.
- The surrogate mother, McKenna West, claims the biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, requested an abortion, which they deny.
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened to ensure the baby received life-saving medical treatment.
- A court order granted the biological parents custody, stating the surrogate's attempts to interfere with medical care were rejected.
- The surrogate mother's attorney is challenging the parentage orders, asserting that Texas law considers the birth mother as the child's mother.
- The surrogate expressed feeling trapped by a surrogacy agreement but wanted to protect the child.