Ken Paxton Demands Protection for Surrogate and Unborn Child with Birth Defect
Paxton obtained an emergency order requiring Dallas hospitals to provide life-saving care and keep the baby in Texas while the parentage fight continues.
- On Wednesday, McKenna West gave birth in Texas, one day after a judge ordered life-sustaining treatment for the newborn following intervention by Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
- West alleged the biological parents sought an abortion after a 20-week diagnosis, but Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar dispute these claims, citing California court filings that West violated their surrogacy contract.
- Hypoplastic left heart syndrome affects about 925 babies annually in the U.S., requiring complex surgical repairs according to the CDC. Rachel Rebouch, a law professor at the University of Texas, noted that Texas law prevents medical neglect while surrogacy contracts are "aspirational, not enforceable in court."
- Lee Budner, attorney for the couple, accused West and Paxton of turning the case into "political theater," stating "our clients' only focus at this time is ensuring that their baby receives the medical care that he vitally needs." A temporary restraining order prevents West from seeing the child.
- Texas courts maintain extensive powers to order medical care in the best interest of a child when potential neglect occurs, illustrating the tension between private surrogacy agreements and state intervention authority over newborn welfare.
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88 Articles
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.
Texas court rules that baby with heart defect born to surrogate must receive treatment
The intended parents wanted the surrogate mother to have an abortion once they learned it had a heart defect. A Texas court on Tuesday ordered that the baby receive lifesaving care once born.
Texas Court Orders Lifesaving Care for Baby Gabriel
A Texas court has ordered that an unborn baby diagnosed with a treatable heart condition must receive lifesaving medical care at birth, a victory for the surrogate mother who refused the biological parents' demand that she terminate the pregnancy. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a petition seeking emergency relief on behalf of the baby, whom surrogate McKenna West has named Gabriel. A Texas court granted that petition on Tuesday, issuing…
Associated Press News
California couple's surrogate gives birth in Texas after judge orders life-saving care
A surrogate who went to Texas after a dispute with a California couple over treating a severe birth defect has given birth a day after a judge in Texas ordered a hospital to provide life-sustaining care.
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