Image Source: Facebook / McKenna West
An unborn baby at the centre of a bitter international surrogacy dispute will receive medically necessary treatment for a serious heart condition after a Texas court intervened to protect his life.
McKenna West, an Alaskan nurse carrying the baby she has named Gabriel, secured the emergency order after refusing an earlier request from the intended parents to abort him following his diagnosis with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS).
The case was first reported earlier this month, when West began fighting for authority over Gabriel’s medical care. The intended parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, had entered into a commercial surrogacy arrangement with West through Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists.
At Gabriel’s 20-week scan, doctors discovered HLHS, a serious congenital condition in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped. Children born with the condition require specialist treatment, usually involving a series of operations beginning shortly after birth.
West said that the intended parents subsequently requested an abortion, which she refused despite a provision in the surrogacy agreement concerning foetal abnormalities. She instead travelled to Texas seeking specialist treatment for Gabriel.
The dispute later shifted from whether Gabriel would be born to whether he would receive treatment after birth. According to filings from the Texas Attorney General’s office, the intended parents had not consented to the necessary surgery and wanted to take Gabriel to California, giving him only comfort care.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened on Monday, arguing that the continuing disputes over parentage did not remove doctors’ legal obligations to provide medically necessary care to the child.
Less than 24 hours later, a Dallas County court issued an emergency order preventing anyone from withholding, obstructing, or delaying medically necessary treatment after Gabriel is born. The order also prevents him from being removed from Texas while the dispute continues.
A guardian ad litem has also been appointed to represent Gabriel’s interests.
“The court has made the right decision in immediately acting to protect baby Gabriel’s life and ensure he receives the care he deserves,” Paxton said.
“My office utilised every tool at our disposal to protect life, and we will not back down in continuing to support baby Gabriel’s well-being. Every child in our state deserves to be cared for and protected, and that’s exactly what I’ll fight for.”
However, the ruling represents only an interim victory. West has reportedly been prohibited from making medical decisions for Gabriel, while the intended parents retain parental decision-making powers except where their decisions would interfere with treatment doctors determine is necessary to save his life.
West has also reportedly been barred from contact with Gabriel following his birth, a provision criticised by Live Action founder Lila Rose, who argued that the baby would be separated from the woman who carried him and fought to secure his treatment.
Gabriel is due in early September. The parties are expected to return to court on 25th August as the wider dispute over parental authority continues.
Michael Robinson, SPUC’s Executive Director, said: “McKenna West has fought as only a mother could for Gabriel’s life and wellbeing. It is a joy that the pro-life legal system in Texas has given her victory in that fight. As with all surrogacy cases, the joy of new life comes with a bittersweet end—the baby being robbed from the only person he has known his whole life, his gestational mother.”
He continued, “Baby Gabriel’s life is something to celebrate, but the baby buying business that has led to his life being debated from Alaska, to Texas, to California is still an evil one. Commercial surrogacy must end worldwide.”
