A two-day-old baby with a rare heart defect, at the centre of a complex surrogacy dispute in Texas, has been handed over to the custody of his biological parents, their lawyers confirmed on Friday. The baby has hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition requiring surgical correction, and is now receiving care.
The baby was born on Wednesday to surrogate mother McKenna West of Alaska. West reportedly refused requests for an abortion from the biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed of California, who deny making these requests.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened in the case, seeking to ensure the then-unborn baby received life-saving medical treatment. Paxton secured a court order for this care, referring to the baby as Gabriel.
Lawyers for the biological parents stated that West's attempt to interfere with the baby's medical care was rejected by the courts. West's attorney, Lincoln Davis Wilson, said she has been denied contact with the child but intends to continue efforts to gain custody, challenging the orders of parentage.