What to know about a surrogacy dispute between a California couple, their surrogate and Texas courts
- A California couple and their surrogate are in a legal dispute after a baby with hypoplastic left heart syndrome was born in Texas and placed at the center of a custody and medical-care fight.
- The surrogate, McKenna West, said the couple wanted to end the pregnancy after the heart defect was diagnosed, while the couple says she violated their surrogacy contract and lost any custody rights.
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened, and a Dallas judge ordered two hospitals to provide life-sustaining care and keep the baby in Texas until at least a late-August hearing.
- Anti-abortion groups and Republican officials have backed West, while the couple’s lawyer has accused Paxton of turning the case into political theater.
- Experts quoted in the report said surrogacy law is not set at the federal level and varies by state, and that California would likely honor the contract and recognize the intended parents.
- The baby’s condition typically requires multiple surgeries soon after birth and can be fatal without treatment.
A legal fight has emerged in Texas over a newborn with hypoplastic left heart syndrome after surrogate McKenna West gave birth there to a boy for a California couple. West says the couple had wanted to end the pregnancy after doctors diagnosed the condition. The couple, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, say West broke the surrogacy agreement and that a California court already recognized them as the child’s legal and physical parents.
The dispute escalated after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened and a Dallas judge ordered hospitals to provide life-sustaining care and keep the baby in Texas until at least a hearing in late August. West sought custody before the birth with legal help from Alliance Defending Freedom, while the couple obtained a restraining order that their lawyer says kept West from seeing or holding the child after delivery.
The case has drawn support from anti-abortion groups and Republican officials, and it has also prompted questions about how surrogacy is handled across the United States. The report notes that surrogacy law is not federally regulated and that states handle it differently. Experts quoted in the story said California would likely enforce the contract and recognize the intended parents, while the baby’s heart defect typically requires several surgeries soon after birth and can be fatal without treatment.
加州夫妇、代孕者与得州法院之间的代孕纠纷有何要点
一名代孕者麦肯纳·韦斯特在得州生下一名患有左心发育不全综合征的新生儿后，这起案件迅速演变成法律争议。韦斯特说，在医生诊断出胎儿存在严重心脏缺陷后，委托代孕的加州夫妇曾希望终止妊娠。夫妇一方则称，韦斯特违反了代孕协议，而且加州法院已确认他们是孩子的合法和实际监护父母。
争议在得州总检察长肯·帕克斯顿介入后进一步升级。达拉斯一名法官命令两家医院为婴儿提供维持生命的治疗，并要求孩子至少留在得州，直到8月下旬的听证会。韦斯特在分娩前曾在保守法律组织的支持下向法院申请获得监护权；而夫妇的律师说，他们拿到了限制令，使韦斯特在孩子出生后无法见到或抱起孩子。
此案也引发了反堕胎组织和共和党官员的公开支持，并再次把美国代孕制度的州际差异推到台前。报道指出，代孕并没有联邦统一监管，各州规定不同。受访专家表示，在加州，法院很可能会执行代孕合同并承认委托父母身份；与此同时，这名婴儿的心脏缺陷通常需要出生后不久进行多次手术，不治疗可能致命。