Surrogate mother who fled to Texas gives birth to baby with severe heart defect
McKenna West initially agreed to an abortion after diagnosis, but then fled to state where abortion is illegal and broke contact with biological parents, attorney alleges A surrogate mother who traveled to Texas, where abortion is illegal, claiming she was pressured to end the pregnancy after the discovery of a severe heart defect, gave birth on Wednesday to a baby boy. The child’s biological…
A woman who became a surrogate mother in Texas, where abortion is illegal, gave birth to a baby boy on Wednesday after the discovery of a severe heart defect. The child, named Gabriel, is being treated by a team of pediatric experts. The biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, from California, confirmed the birth through their lawyer but denied pressuring McKenna West, who is from Alaska, to have an abortion.
The case attracted national attention when Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened, issuing an emergency court order to prevent the fetus from being taken out of state and requesting life-saving care for the newborn. West initially agreed to an abortion after learning of the defect but later broke contact with the biological parents.
The dispute over the pregnancy intensified, with West alleging she felt trapped due to the surrogacy agreement, while the couple maintained they did not intend to deprive the child of medical treatment. The condition, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, requires multiple surgeries and may lead to lifelong complications.
Written by urgent.news from The Guardian US's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
