A legal saga surrounding a controversial surrogacy case that has riveted national attention recently reached a pivotal moment. A baby boy central to the story was born at a Texas hospital, as confirmed by a recent report.
On Wednesday morning, McKenna West delivered the newborn, affectionately called ‘Baby Gabriel,’ in the Dallas metropolitan area. Her attorney, Lincoln Wilson, shared this news with The Dallas Morning News.
Baby Gabriel faces a significant medical hurdle, as he is set to undergo a critical surgery to treat hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition diagnosed while he was still in the womb.
This diagnosis has ignited legal disputes and controversy involving West, 28, and the child’s biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, intensifying the already complex case.
It was during a crucial 20-week ultrasound that the severity of the baby’s heart condition was uncovered, as a doctor informed West, an Alaskan nurse, and Baby Gabriel’s biological parents that there was a serious anomaly—no blood flow to the heart’s left side.
West was then referred to a maternal-fetal medicine doctor, who diagnosed the baby with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition that can often be remedied with surgery immediately after birth.
But that’s when the child’s biological parents first brought up aborting the child – something West was not on board with.
When she first met with the parents, a couple from California, the contract she signed included a clause that would require her to abort the baby in the event of an ‘anomaly.’
McKenna West gave birth to a baby boy on Wednesday morning in Dallas, Texas, her attorney said
West, a mother-of-two, expressed her concern to the Connecticut-based Worldwide Surrogacy Specialist, LLC about the clause, but the agency told her that a situation like that is rare.
She went on to ask the agency if she could help financially assist the couple regarding care for their child so they wouldn’t abort him, and told his parents that she’s heard of people surviving with the condition.
Despite her best efforts, Ahmed told West that he and his wife had already removed the baby’s 12-week ultrasound from their fridge at home, and told her she could mail the 20-week images – but to address the envelope only to him.
Upon researching more about the heart condition, West found out that a hospital in Dallas has had a 100 percent success rate in recent years with the first of three surgeries an affected baby would need right after birth.
She then told the surrogacy agency that she would live with a friend in Texas to mitigate the costs for the couple, but a liaison for the agency said the biological parents were still concerned about the baby’s future quality of life.
West was told to officially undergo an abortion the Monday after the diagnosis.
As she would be 24 weeks pregnant at the time of the abortion, West said in court documents that she was appalled at the idea that doctors would inject the baby with ‘a solution that will stop his heart and then he’ll be literally ripped apart and dismembered as he’s taken from [her] uterus,’ Live Action reported.
A nurse then told West that she reached out to her friend, podcaster Ellen Fisher, who previously welcomed Live Action founder and president Lila Rose as a guest on her podcast.
Within hours, West received a text message from Fisher saying Rose would help her and her children get to Texas to meet with the doctors who could save the baby’s life.
‘I couldn’t believe that within 12 hours of talking to my brother, I was getting these screenshots of Ellen’s and Lila’s text exchanges and I finally felt hopeful,’ West said.
‘From there, it just blew up and I think the next day, I was already meeting with some of the lawyers.’
On Tuesday, just a day before the birth of ‘Baby Gabriel,’ West secured a legal victory in her case after she petitioned a family district court in Dallas to allow the child to remain in the Lone Star State and receive potentially life-saving care.
West was supported in her efforts by Texas Attorney General and Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who submitted a brief on Monday arguing that state law requires that physicians provide medically necessary treatment.
Less than 24 hours later, an associate judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing anyone from withholding or obstructing the infant’s necessary treatment when he is born early next month.
The judge also appointed a legal guardian to ensure the child receives all of the necessary treatments for his condition.
The legal win did come with one major drawback for West, who is now forbidden from having any contact with the baby after his birth, according to Rose.