Surrogacy dispute over newborn with heart defect draws Texas intervention

A legal battle has erupted between a California couple and their surrogate over a newborn with a severe heart condition, a case that has drawn intervention from Texas's top law enforcement official and national anti-abortion groups.

The surrogate, McKenna West, gave birth on Wednesday to a boy diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a condition where one side of the heart is underdeveloped. West, a nurse, has stated that the intended parents, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar of Los Angeles, wanted to terminate the pregnancy after learning of the diagnosis at 20 weeks.

The couple, however, maintains that West violated their surrogacy contract. They have obtained a restraining order preventing West from seeing the child, according to her attorney. The couple is currently in Dallas with the newborn, who is receiving medical care. West and her supporters call the child Gabriel, while the couple refers to him as Rumi in court filings.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened in the case, directing two Dallas hospitals to provide life-sustaining care and ensuring the baby remains in Texas until a late August hearing. Paxton accused the couple of refusing to consent to life-saving surgery, a claim the couple's attorney, Lee Budner, has denied, calling the intervention "political theater."

The surrogacy agreement was made in August 2025 through Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists, LLC. West's lawyers allege the couple pressured her to seek an abortion after the diagnosis. With legal support from the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian organization, West petitioned a Dallas court for custody two days before giving birth.

Court documents from Alaska indicate the couple claims West initially agreed to end the pregnancy but later changed her mind and cut off contact. The couple also argued that West's decision to give birth in Texas separated the child from his specialized cardiac team in Los Angeles, forcing him to begin critical treatment in one state before being transferred.

Live Action, an anti-abortion group, funded West's travel to Texas, which bans abortion. The case highlights the complexities of surrogacy law in the U.S., which is not federally regulated and varies by state. Legal experts note that while contracts are typically ironclad, this case presents rare and difficult questions about parental rights and the quality of life for a child with a severe medical condition.

HLHS requires a series of three surgeries, with the first, the Norwood procedure, typically performed within days or weeks of birth. Without treatment, the condition can be fatal. Only about 925 babies are born with HLHS in the U.S. each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.