{
  "id": 1776304,
  "title": "Baby at center of LA-Texas surrogacy legal battle undergoes heart surgery: Attorney",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/baby-at-center-of-la-texas-surrogacy-legal-battle-undergoes-heart",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-18T19:03:53.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ABC News (US)",
    "slug": "abc-news-us",
    "url": "https://abcnews.com/US/baby-center-surrogacy-legal-battle-los-angeles-california/story?id=135748669"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "An infant boy in the middle of a legal dispute between his parents and his surrogate is recovering from heart surgery, according to his attorney. Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, a Los Angeles couple, hired McKenna West as their surrogate during her pregnancy. West, residing in Alaska, gave birth to their son, Rumi, in Texas last week. West informed the couple that the fetus she was carrying had been diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a severe condition. The baby, named Rumi by the parents, underwent a complex heart surgery, which was his first of three required surgeries for his condition. The couple's attorney, Lee Budner, confirmed that the family immediately consented to the surgery and that Rumi was taken to the operating room early on August 17th. Despite the surgery, the baby's condition remains critical and complex, and the family requests privacy while they focus on his recovery. Rumi is currently recuperating with his parents.",
  "summary": "The baby at the center of a surrogacy legal battle between a Los Angeles, California couple and an Alaska surrogate underwent heart surgery, an attorney says.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CBS News",
        "title": "Baby with heart defect at center of surrogate dispute receives first surgery",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/baby-with-heart-defect-at-center-of-surrogate-dispute-receives-first",
        "published": "2026-08-17T23:05:48.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}