A surrogate mother who says she rejected a request to end her pregnancy after doctors found the baby had a severe congenital heart condition is moving ahead with a legal battle, even after the newborn received lifesaving cardiac surgery. She claims the infant was taken from her just one minute after delivery.
McKenna West, an Alaska mother and cardiac nurse who carried the child, said Thursday that she remains determined to fight for the baby following their separation moments after his Aug. 12 birth.
“I haven’t been allowed to hold this precious baby boy I carried and protected throughout my pregnancy,” West wrote in a New York Post op-ed Thursday. “The only glimpse I got of him was during a very short 60 seconds while his umbilical cord was still connected. As soon as the cord was cut, he was taken away.”
Surrogate mother McKenna West went to Texas after she says the baby’s intended parents asked her to terminate the pregnancy. (Live Action)
West had entered into a surrogacy arrangement last year with California couple Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, who are the child’s intended parents.
West says the couple asked her to have an abortion after the baby was diagnosed around 20 weeks with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, known as HLHS. She refused the request and later traveled to Texas, where she delivered the baby.
An attorney representing Ahmed and Gilkar has challenged central elements of West’s version of events and said the couple approved the baby’s surgery once physicians concluded he qualified for the procedure.
Lee Budner, the lawyer for Ahmed and Gilkar, said doctors determined on Aug. 14 that the newborn — whom the couple calls Rumi — was a candidate for the Norwood procedure, the first in a series of three open-heart operations often used to treat infants born with 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 Outlet 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 Outlet. (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 Outlet’s request for comment.
