A BABY born to a surrogate mother in Texas is now in the custody of his biological parents after they demanded an abortion over a heart defect.
McKenna West, a nurse from Alaska, gave birth to a boy, who she named Gabriel, on Wednesday – despite urgent pleas from his parents that she terminate the pregnancy after the diagnosis.
Surrogate mother McKenna West gave birth on Wednesday Credit: Facebook
West has vowed to win parental rights of the child Credit: Facebook/Mckenna West
Nausheen Gilkar, 43, and Omar Ahmed, 45, were given the newborn while he receives medical care.
Lawyer for the couple, Lee Bunder, said his clients were placing the child’s health first and following the advice of doctors.
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He also told TMZ: “As if the heartbreak of his condition were not enough, they are devastated to see their family tragedy transformed into political theatre by the Texas Attorney General’s office and McKenna West.”
The surrogate refused to end the pregnancy after being told that a series of operations could give the baby a chance at life.
The child was diagnosed with the rare birth defect – which means that the left side of his heart is too small and cannot pump blood to the rest of his body – during her 20-week ultrasound.
West said earlier scans and genetic tests had appeared normal, adding it was “completely unexpected.”
After the devastating news, Gilkar and Ahmed told her to get an abortion – but she refused.
The contract between the biological parents and West had a clause that allowed termination if there was an “anomaly” during the pregnancy.
The boy’s biological parents demanded that she abort him over a severe heart defect Credit: Facebook/Mckenna West
West pictured with her baby bump Credit: Courtesy of Mckenna West
Instead, she relocated to Texas after finding a hospital in Dallas that has a high success rate for babies with the defect.
Her lawyer, Lincoln Wilson, confirmed that his client is readying for a court battle to become the legal parent of Gabriel – and likened the contract to a “hitman contract.”
He told the New York Post: “These forced abortion clauses that demand that women have to be required to abort a child at the late term are quite common in surrogacy contracts.
“There’s some contracts the law doesn’t enforce. Like the law doesn’t enforce a hitman contract.
“This is basically a hitman contract, and we think that even if you accept a liberal view of abortion rights, the right to get an abortion also entails the right to not get an abortion.”
Wilson further added that West is seeking parentage of the child because she gave birth in Texas.
“In Texas, if you give birth to a child, it’s your child,” he added, threatening to take the case up to the US Supreme Court if necessary.
His client currently has no legal authority over the newborn because of a temporary restraining order filed by Gilkar and Ahmed.
This also means that she cannot make any decisions about his care, including on medical decisions, and bars her from representing herself as a parent, it was reported.
The baby will soon undergo a series of heart surgeries, the first of which is called the Norwood procedure.
It is followed by the Glenn procedure at around four to six months and the Fontan operation at roughly two or three years old.
NewYork-Presbyterian says around 72 percent of children receiving surgical treatment survive to age five.
Among those who reach five, approximately 90 percent survive to 18, although patients require lifelong heart care and may later need further procedures or a transplant.
Court documents reportedly describe the baby as a standard-risk patient whose condition may be an isolated heart defect.
