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Texas Supreme Court denies surrogate's request, rules baby can leave state
The Texas Supreme Court on Thursday denied surrogate mother McKenna West's request to rule that the baby she delivered must remain in Texas to receive specialized medical treatment for his health condition. The ruling could mean that the baby — referred to as "Gabriel" by West prior to his birth, and named "Rumi" by his genetic parents — will be moved to California, where it is hoped that he will continue his treatment for hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS).
The Texas Supreme Court denied surrogate McKenna West's request that the baby boy she carried and gave birth to in Texas should remain there for his ongoing healthcare for HLHS.
The ruling clears the way for the baby to be transferred to California, ostensibly to continue his specialized care.
West has expressed concern that the genetic parents of the baby will not provide him with the care he needs, because they had wanted to abort him and have reportedly not committed to carrying out the surgeries necessary to help him survive.
The Texas Supreme Court ruled:
Sustaining the life of the medically fragile child is the paramount concern in this time-sensitive matter. The limited materials before this Court describe uncontroverted medical testimony of the child’s Texas physician indicating that ‘the child’s best interest in order to preserve the child’s life as long as possible [i]s an ICU-to-ICU transfer.
The August 25 hearing was sealed from public view; however, a brief filed by the guardian ad litem, Susan Duesler, notes that the baby's doctor testified that he recommends the baby's remaining surgeries be carried out soon in a California hospital. Waiting would create "much more complicated treatment," according to the physician.
Dueslar said the genetic parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, "have followed the recommendations of the doctors to a T" and that those doctors have "unequivocally no" concerns about the parents' ability to make decisions about his medical care. The parents want to transfer his care to California, which is their state of residence.
McKenna West, a nurse and single mother of two, decided to act as a surrogate to help a couple have a child and to make additional income to support her family without being away from her children. She was matched with Gilkar and Ahmed, and everything went smoothly until, at 20 weeks, the preborn baby boy was diagnosed with HLHS. Gilkar and Ahmed almost immediately requested an abortion. West initially agreed, but then backed out of the abortion.
Instead, West found doctors in Texas who could give the baby an excellent chance at survival based on a three-surgery process and relocated there with her children, staying with a friend. The baby was born in Texas on August 12, and he received his first surgery after Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a petition.
West petitioned for custody so she could make medical decisions for baby Gabriel/Rumi, noting that she would stop seeking custody if Gilkar and Ahmed would commit to providing the baby the surgeries and care he needs.
Multiple court battles have ensued between Alaska, California, and Texas regarding custody, the baby's care, and a still-underway lawsuit filed by Gilkar and Ahmed against West for more than $100,000.
The story has shone a spotlight on the ethical dilemmas that plague the fertility industry, specifically surrounding IVF, surrogacy, prenatal testing, and abortion.
Since Gilkar and Ahmed carried out IVF, it is likely that each embryo they created was tested and graded for 'quality'. However, no amount of embryonic testing can currently predict an issue that develops in the womb after implantation. In this case, that was the development of HLHS, a serious but treatable heart condition.
Despite multiple attempts to have a child, Gilkar and Ahmed wanted to abort their son after his diagnosis.
The entire process speaks to the eugenic aspects of both the fertility industry and the abortion industry. It has become an expectation that parents discard embryos who are deemed unhealthy and abort babies who receive prenatal diagnoses.
The story also calls into question parental rights when one person gives birth to the child, but others claim a legal right to that baby. Surrogates are often underprivileged women who see surrogacy as a way to make money, unaware that the people renting their uteruses will have a good amount of control over their lives and bodies.
Surrogacy contracts often include a clause that states the surrogate must follow the intended parents' wishes on abortion; however, it is unlikely that a court would force a woman to have an abortion. Instead, the genetic parents often pressure the woman to go through with the abortion through financial threats.
Ultimately, the best interests of the children are lost amid the desires of the adults who have spent a great deal of time and money creating a child and often do not want a child with health conditions.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
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·Texas Supreme Court denies surrogate's request, rules baby can leave state
The Texas Supreme Court on Thursday denied surrogate mother McKenna West's request to rule that the baby she delivered must remain in Texas to receive specialized medical treatment for his health condition. The ruling could mean that the baby — referred to as "Gabriel" by West prior to his birth, and named "Rumi" by his genetic parents — will be moved to California, where it is hoped that he will continue his treatment for hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS).
The Texas Supreme Court denied surrogate McKenna West's request that the baby boy she carried and gave birth to in Texas should remain there for his ongoing healthcare for HLHS.
The ruling clears the way for the baby to be transferred to California, ostensibly to continue his specialized care.
West has expressed concern that the genetic parents of the baby will not provide him with the care he needs, because they had wanted to abort him and have reportedly not committed to carrying out the surgeries necessary to help him survive.
The Texas Supreme Court ruled:
Sustaining the life of the medically fragile child is the paramount concern in this time-sensitive matter. The limited materials before this Court describe uncontroverted medical testimony of the child’s Texas physician indicating that ‘the child’s best interest in order to preserve the child’s life as long as possible [i]s an ICU-to-ICU transfer.
The August 25 hearing was sealed from public view; however, a brief filed by the guardian ad litem, Susan Duesler, notes that the baby's doctor testified that he recommends the baby's remaining surgeries be carried out soon in a California hospital. Waiting would create "much more complicated treatment," according to the physician.
Dueslar said the genetic parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, "have followed the recommendations of the doctors to a T" and that those doctors have "unequivocally no" concerns about the parents' ability to make decisions about his medical care. The parents want to transfer his care to California, which is their state of residence.
McKenna West, a nurse and single mother of two, decided to act as a surrogate to help a couple have a child and to make additional income to support her family without being away from her children. She was matched with Gilkar and Ahmed, and everything went smoothly until, at 20 weeks, the preborn baby boy was diagnosed with HLHS. Gilkar and Ahmed almost immediately requested an abortion. West initially agreed, but then backed out of the abortion.
Instead, West found doctors in Texas who could give the baby an excellent chance at survival based on a three-surgery process and relocated there with her children, staying with a friend. The baby was born in Texas on August 12, and he received his first surgery after Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a petition.
West petitioned for custody so she could make medical decisions for baby Gabriel/Rumi, noting that she would stop seeking custody if Gilkar and Ahmed would commit to providing the baby the surgeries and care he needs.
Multiple court battles have ensued between Alaska, California, and Texas regarding custody, the baby's care, and a still-underway lawsuit filed by Gilkar and Ahmed against West for more than $100,000.
The story has shone a spotlight on the ethical dilemmas that plague the fertility industry, specifically surrounding IVF, surrogacy, prenatal testing, and abortion.
Since Gilkar and Ahmed carried out IVF, it is likely that each embryo they created was tested and graded for 'quality'. However, no amount of embryonic testing can currently predict an issue that develops in the womb after implantation. In this case, that was the development of HLHS, a serious but treatable heart condition.
Despite multiple attempts to have a child, Gilkar and Ahmed wanted to abort their son after his diagnosis.
The entire process speaks to the eugenic aspects of both the fertility industry and the abortion industry. It has become an expectation that parents discard embryos who are deemed unhealthy and abort babies who receive prenatal diagnoses.
The story also calls into question parental rights when one person gives birth to the child, but others claim a legal right to that baby. Surrogates are often underprivileged women who see surrogacy as a way to make money, unaware that the people renting their uteruses will have a good amount of control over their lives and bodies.
Surrogacy contracts often include a clause that states the surrogate must follow the intended parents' wishes on abortion; however, it is unlikely that a court would force a woman to have an abortion. Instead, the genetic parents often pressure the woman to go through with the abortion through financial threats.
Ultimately, the best interests of the children are lost amid the desires of the adults who have spent a great deal of time and money creating a child and often do not want a child with health conditions.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Cassy Cooke
·Politics
Cassy Cooke
·Politics
Isabella Childs
·Politics
Bridget Sielicki
·Politics
Bernadette Pate
·Abortion Pill
Bridget Sielicki
·Investigative
Nancy Flanders
·Human Interest
Nancy Flanders
·Pop Culture
Nancy Flanders
·Issues
Nancy Flanders
·Human Interest
Nancy Flanders
·