California couple’s surrogate gives birth in Texas after judge orders life-saving care

A California couple’s surrogate who went to Texas in an escalating dispute over treating a congenital heart condition gave birth Wednesday, a day after a judge in Dallas ordered life-sustaining care for the newborn.

The child was receiving stabilizing care and scheduled to undergo surgery at a Texas hospital, according to an attorney for McKenna West, the surrogate mother whose case has drawn widening national support from right-to-life groups and Republican officials.

West was carrying the child for a California couple she has accused of wanting to end the pregnancy after the fetus was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a life-threatening heart condition.

A judge on Tuesday ordered the child to receive life-sustaining treatment after Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened in support of the surrogate.

“She has taken on great personal risk to herself,” said Lincoln Davis Wilson, an attorney for West.

The couple, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, have denied in court filings that they intended to refuse surgery once the child was born. Lee Budner, an attorney for the couple, did not immediately return emails and phone messages seeking comment Wednesday.

In a statement to The Texas Tribune, Budner said the baby was receiving medical care and accused West and Paxton of turning a family tragedy into “political theater.”

“Our clients’ only focus at this time is ensuring that their baby receives the medical care that he vitally needs and that they, as his parents, are able to spend every precious moment they can with him,” Budner said.

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is a condition where the left side of the heart prevents normal blood flow. If untreated, the condition causes severe symptoms such as breathing problems, weak pulse and ashen or bluish skin.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the condition must be treated with multiple surgeries that are complex and challenging. About 925 babies in the U.S. are born with HLHS each year, according to the CDC.

Without treatment, children affected by the heart defect can die within days or weeks. Surgical repairs are not necessarily cures, and additional surgeries or heart transplants may be needed, according to the CDC.

West’s lawyers have alleged the couple spent weeks pressuring West to seek an abortion after learning of the diagnosis at 20 weeks.

In court documents, the couple argues that West broke a surrogacy contract and that a California court determined she has no rights to legal or physical custody of the child.

They also dispute they intended to refuse surgery, saying that medical professionals had told them it was not possible to determine whether the baby would be a candidate for open-heart surgery.

“That is not and has never been our position,” Ahmed wrote in court documents filed in Texas. “Since Ms. West moved to Texas, we have consistently sought the opportunity to consult with physicians caring for our child to make informed medical decisions for him as his parents.”

West was not able to see or hold the child because of a temporary restraining order that was entered by the couple, according to Wilson.

University of Texas School of Law professor Rachel Rebouché, who specializes in reproductive law, said disputes like this one are rare.

Contracts usually include language where parents and surrogates agree on issues of medical care and when or how to end a pregnancy, but she said “those are aspirational, not enforceable in court.”

Texas law gives parents the rights to make decisions about medical care, but they don’t have the right to deny care in a manner that amounts to medical abuse or neglect, Rebouché said. She said Texas courts have extensive powers to issues orders in the best interest of the child, Rebouché said.

“There is case law in Texas that supports intervention if there is the possibility of denying life-saving care, once born, for a child in medical need,” she said.