What to know about a surrogacy dispute between a California couple, their surrogate and Texas courts
- A California couple and their surrogate are involved in a legal dispute over a newborn boy with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a severe congenital heart defect.
- The surrogate, McKenna West, gave birth in Texas after traveling from Alaska, and she said the couple had discussed ending the pregnancy after the diagnosis.
- The couple says West violated their surrogacy contract, while West’s lawyers say the couple pressured her to seek an abortion.
- 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 late-August hearing.
- Surrogacy law in the United States is set by states rather than the federal government, and experts say California would likely treat the couple as the legal parents under the contract.
- The baby’s condition typically requires multiple surgeries soon after birth and can be fatal without treatment.
A legal dispute in Texas has emerged over a newborn boy born through surrogacy to a California couple and a surrogate who traveled from Alaska to deliver him. The baby has hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a serious heart defect that requires immediate medical care.
The couple, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, say the surrogate, McKenna West, breached their surrogacy agreement. West’s lawyers say the couple pressured her to seek an abortion after learning of the diagnosis. Court filings also show disagreements over where the baby should be born and treated.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened in the case, and a Dallas judge ordered hospitals to provide life-sustaining treatment and keep the baby in Texas until at least a hearing later in August. The case has drawn attention from anti-abortion groups and Republican leaders.
Experts quoted in the report said surrogacy laws vary by state because there is no federal system governing them. They said California would likely recognize the couple as the child’s legal parents under the contract, while the baby’s condition typically requires multiple surgeries soon after birth and can be fatal without treatment.
关于加州夫妇、代孕母亲与得州法院之间代孕争议的要点
得州出现一起围绕代孕出生婴儿的法律争议。涉事的是一对加州夫妇和一名从阿拉斯加赶赴得州分娩的代孕母亲。婴儿患有左心发育不全综合征，这是一种需要立即医疗照护的严重心脏缺陷。
夫妇奥马尔·艾哈迈德和努斯海恩·吉尔卡尔称，代孕母亲麦肯纳·韦斯特违反了双方的代孕协议。韦斯特的律师则表示，在得知诊断结果后，夫妇曾向她施压要求堕胎。法庭文件还显示，双方在孩子出生和治疗地点上存在分歧。
得州总检察长肯·帕克斯顿介入此案，达拉斯一名法官随后下令医院为婴儿提供维持生命的治疗，并要求婴儿至少在8月晚些时候的听证会前留在得州。此案也引发了反堕胎组织和共和党人士的关注。
报道援引的专家表示，美国代孕法律由各州分别规定，没有联邦统一制度，因此各地做法差异很大。他们说，在加州，这份合同很可能会得到承认，夫妇会被视为孩子的法律父母；而该婴儿的病情通常需要在出生后不久接受多次手术，若不治疗，可能很快危及生命。