The surrogate mother embroiled in a legal battle over a baby’s future is intensifying her efforts after the infant she carried, diagnosed with a severe heart defect, underwent critical heart surgery shortly after birth. This comes on the heels of the baby’s removal from her care, just a minute after delivery.
McKenna West, an Anchorage-based cardiac nurse and mother, vowed on Thursday to continue advocating for the child’s welfare. She spoke out about the emotional separation from the baby, who was taken away immediately following her delivery on August 12.
“Throughout my pregnancy, I cherished and protected this beautiful baby boy, but I’ve been denied the chance to hold him,” West expressed in an op-ed piece published by the New York Post on Thursday. “In the fleeting 60 seconds post-birth, as the umbilical cord still connected us, I caught my only glimpse of him before he was swiftly taken away.”
In the aftermath of intense pressure from the birth parents allegedly urging an abortion, McKenna West made the decision to escape to Texas following the child’s birth. (Live Action)
In an agreement reached last year, West had decided to become a surrogate for Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, a couple from California and the prospective parents of the child.
According to West, Ahmed and Gilkar asked her to terminate the pregnancy after the baby was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, or HLHS, at about 20 weeks. West refused and later traveled to Texas to give birth.
Ahmed and Gilkar’s attorney disputes key parts of West’s account and says they consented to the child’s surgery as soon as doctors determined he was eligible.
Lee Budner, an attorney for Ahmed and Gilkar, said doctors determined on Aug. 14 that the baby, whom Ahmed and Gilkar call Rumi, was eligible for the Norwood procedure, the first of three open-heart surgeries for newborns commonly used to treat HLHS.
Baby Gabriel, aka Baby Rumi, underwent successful Norwood procedure, a newborn heart surgery to treat hypoplastic left heart syndrome, or HLHS. (iStock)
“My clients immediately provided consent for the surgery to occur at the hospital’s earliest availability,” Budner said in an Aug. 17 statement.
The baby underwent surgery Aug. 17, and is recuperating under the care of Ahmed, Gilkar and his medical team, Budner said, adding that his condition “remains critical and complex.”
Budner also accused West of continuing to pursue custody despite court rulings.
“Meanwhile, Ms. West continues to assert baseless claims for custody of Rumi, in violation of multiple courts orders out of both Alaska and California,” he said. “We look forward to quickly defeating those claims as Rumi’s parents continue to focus on his health and safety above all else.”
A newborn is seen in the hospital. The child underwent a successful Norwood procedure on Aug. 17. (iStock)
West, who is being represented with assistance from Alliance Defending Freedom, has said she is not trying to take someone else’s child and described her goal differently.
“I’m not fighting to try to take someone else’s baby,” West wrote Thursday. “I’m fighting because this baby boy needs someone willing to advocate for and fight alongside him as he gets the ongoing treatment his fragile heart requires.”
Live Action founder and president Lila Rose, whose organization has supported West, told News Media that West intends to continue fighting for custody.
“McKenna is fighting for custody because Gabriel needs someone willing to defend him,” Rose said. “He deserves to remain protected and receive every chance to heal and live.”
“He deserves to remain protected and receive every chance to heal and live,” Rose told News Media. (Live Action)
Rose also questioned Ahmed and Gilkar’s account of events leading up to the surgery.
“If they were willing for Gabriel to receive the surgery, why did a Texas court have to ensure that he received it under the force of law?” Rose said. “The court intervened, and Gabriel has now received the surgery he desperately needed. Praise God.”
Rose also alleged that Ahmed and Gilkar previously declined to consent to the baby’s medical care and are now seeking to take him out of Texas. Their attorney has disputed West’s characterization of the case and said Ahmed and Gilkar consented to surgery once the baby’s medical team determined he was eligible for the procedure.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton previously intervened in the case, notifying two Texas medical centers of what his office said were their legal obligations to provide medically necessary care after the child was born.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton previously intervened in the case. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images, File)
The Norwood procedure is the first of three surgeries typically used to treat HLHS, leaving the child’s future medical care at the heart of the continuing dispute.
Budner said the child’s condition remains “critical and complex” and that the family does not intend to provide further health updates.
West, meanwhile, said she intends to continue fighting.
“My plea, my only goal, is simple: Let’s commit to giving this baby the full treatment he needs to live,” West wrote.
Alliance Defending Freedom did not immediately respond to News Media’s request for comment.