Baby with heart defect born amid US surrogacy conflict

A baby with a severe heart defect has been born in Texas, at the centre of a custody battle and wider discussion around surrogacy.

McKenna West from Alaska was acting as a surrogate for a California-based couple, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar. At the 20-week scan, the fetus was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a rare condition which is not survivable without a series of major open-heart surgeries.

'After heartbreaking consultations with medical providers and their own research about the suffering and quality of life HLHS babies endure, [the intended parents] made the difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy,' a filing from the intended parents' lawyers said. 'It is undisputed that West initially agreed and that she herself made the initial appointment. She then unilaterally changed her mind, cut off all contact with [the intended parents], and withdrew medical releases allowing [the intended parents] to have contact with all medical providers.'

West did not proceed with the termination, and instead travelled to Texas with help from anti-abortion groups, where she would be recognised as the birth mother under state law. In Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened, and a Dallas judge ordered two hospitals to ensure they provide life-sustaining care and that the baby remain in Texas until at least a hearing in late August.

Gilkar and Ahmed denied that they ever sought to force West to terminate the pregnancy, and court documents show the couple were willing to have West give birth in California and their child begin lifelong treatment from there.

They are suing the surrogate for more than US$100,000: 'West is harming [the baby] by relocating to Texas, requiring him to be born in Texas, away from his parents and the specialised cardiac team in Los Angeles that will provide his lifelong care,' the court filing said.

West, in turn, is seeking custody of the child; her lawyers said that she is 'lawfully the parent because she gave birth to this child that she carries in Texas and therefore should control custody as well.'

A California court had already recognised Ahmed and Gilkar as the baby's legal parents before birth, and the Dallas judge affirmed their authority to make medical decisions, while ordering that the baby receive life-saving treatment in Texas while the dispute continues. According to West's lawyer, the orders have also prevented her from seeing or holding the child.

The first lifesaving surgery has already been carried out, according to Lee Budner, the lawyer for Ahmed and Gilkar, who said the boy had undergone 'a complex palliative heart surgery.'

The parties are due back in a Dallas County court later this month for the next hearing in the case.