McKenna West, a surrogate who refused the biological parents' request to terminate a pregnancy after the fetus was diagnosed with a severe heart condition, gave birth to a boy she named Gabriel in the Dallas area on Wednesday, her attorney Lincoln Wilson told The Dallas Morning News.
Surrogate who refused abortion order gives birth early; court bars her from holding baby
McKenna West, a surrogate who refused the biological parents' request to terminate a pregnancy after the fetus was diagnosed with a severe heart condition, gave birth to a boy she named Gabriel in the Dallas area on Wednesday, her attorney Lincoln Wilson told The Dallas Morning News.
The legal dispute began in April after the unborn child was diagnosed at 20 weeks with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a severe but treatable congenital heart condition. The surrogacy contract between West and the biological parents included a clause permitting termination in the event of a fetal 'anomaly.'
Following the diagnosis, the biological parents called on West to seek an abortion. West, described as a single mother of two, declined and traveled to Texas, where she would be recognized as the birth mother under state law.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a petition urging doctors to provide the baby with life-saving care upon birth and to prevent the child from being taken out of state. A court granted that request on Tuesday. The resulting emergency order requires two Dallas hospitals to provide critical care, including intensive treatment and at least one surgery. Newborns diagnosed with HLHS require surgery almost immediately after birth to survive beyond their first week, according to the article.
A separate court order prohibits West from seeing or holding Gabriel. Her attorney said West would consider taking custody of the child if courts permit. The California-based biological parents, who are suing West, were scheduled to appear in a Dallas County court on Aug. 25.
West's legal team has argued that the termination clause in the surrogacy contract, though described as standard, is 'offensive to state and federal law,' according to The Dallas Morning News. Attorney Wilson stated: 'The law doesn't permit hit man contracts. And this is a hit man contract.'
It is not immediately clear what the legal outcome will be if Gabriel eventually leaves the hospital, according to the report.
- The biological parents are not directly quoted or given a named opportunity to respond in the source.
- The identity and jurisdiction of the court that issued the order barring West from seeing or holding the baby are not specified.
- The current legal status or outcome of the Aug. 25 Dallas County court appearance is not reported.
- Details about the two Dallas hospitals named in the emergency order are not provided.
- The source does not clarify which state the biological parents reside in beyond describing them as a 'California couple.'
- The ultimate custodial arrangement for Gabriel after hospital discharge is described as unresolved but not further elaborated upon.
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