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 A two-day-old baby with a rare heart defect at the center of a complex surrogacy dispute in Texas has been handed over to the parents’ custody and is receiving care, lawyers for the parents said on Friday. The baby has hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a defect that requires…
A two-day-old baby with a rare heart defect has been handed over to the biological parents in Texas, ending a complex surrogacy dispute. The infant, who has hypoplastic left heart syndrome, required immediate medical attention. The biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed of California, had denied requests from the surrogate mother, McKenna West of Alaska, to terminate the pregnancy.
West traveled to Texas "for protection" and to ensure the child could be near doctors experienced in treating his condition. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened, securing a court order to ensure the baby received life-saving medical treatment. West claims the biological parents sought his termination, but her attorney stated that the court had rejected her attempts to interfere with the baby's care.
West has been denied contact with the child and intends to continue efforts to gain custody, challenging the orders of parentage in Texas law.
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.
