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 over custody and medical decisions for a newborn boy born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a serious heart defect.
- The surrogate, McKenna West, traveled from Alaska to Texas to give birth and later sought custody of the child through a Dallas court, supported by the conservative Christian group Alliance Defending Freedom.
- The couple, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, say West violated their surrogacy contract and that a California court had already recognized them as the child’s legal parents with 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.
A legal fight has emerged between a California couple, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, and their surrogate, McKenna West, after West gave birth in Texas to a boy with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The condition is a serious congenital heart defect that requires multiple surgeries and can be fatal without treatment.
Court filings described competing claims over the surrogacy agreement and the child’s custody. The couple says West violated the contract, while West’s lawyers say the couple pressured her to seek an abortion after the diagnosis. West petitioned a Dallas court for custody shortly before giving birth.
The case drew attention from Texas officials and anti-abortion groups after Attorney General Ken Paxton said his office was intervening to protect the baby’s life. A Dallas judge ordered hospitals to provide life-sustaining care and keep the child in Texas until a hearing later in August. Surrogacy law in the United States is handled by states rather than the federal government, which can create legal uncertainty in disputes like this.
加州夫妇、代孕母亲与德州法院之间的代孕纠纷，情况如何
在这起争议中，加州夫妇欧马尔·艾哈迈德和努西恩·吉尔卡尔，与代孕母亲麦肯纳·韦斯特之间爆发了法律纠纷。韦斯特在得克萨斯州生下一名男婴，孩子患有左心发育不全综合征，这是一种严重的先天性心脏缺陷，通常需要多次手术治疗，若不治疗可能危及生命。
法院文件显示，双方对代孕协议和孩子监护权的说法相互冲突。夫妇一方称韦斯特违反了合同，韦斯特的律师则表示，孩子被诊断后，夫妇曾向她施压要求堕胎。韦斯特在分娩前不久向达拉斯法院申请监护权。
得州总检察长肯·帕克斯顿表示其办公室介入此案以“保护婴儿的生命”，此后该案引发了得州官员和反堕胎团体的关注。达拉斯法官随后命令医院提供维持生命的治疗，并要求孩子在8月晚些时候的听证会前留在得州。报道还指出，美国代孕法律主要由各州分别规定，因此这类纠纷容易出现法律不确定性。