A California couple locked in a legal dispute with their surrogate over a baby born with a critical heart defect told a Texas court Tuesday that the child's condition has deteriorated, expressing anguish over attempts to strip their parental rights because they had previously requested an abortion. "He's our child," Nausheen Gilkar said as she cried on the witness stand. Referring to surrogate McKenna West, who sat across from her in the Dallas courtroom, Gilkar said, "She's unstable." "She's trying to take him from us,” she added.
The proceeding delivered the clearest public account so far of a high-profile battle over surrogacy and abortion. Republican officials and right-to-life campaigns have rallied behind West, a nurse who traveled from Alaska to deliver the child on Aug. 12 in Texas, where most abortions are prohibited. Gilkar and her husband, Omar Ahmed, named the baby Rumi.
Lawyers for West, who refers to the infant as Gabriel, said she is pursuing sole conservatorship to oversee his medical treatment. It remains unclear when the judge will rule on the matter. West testified that she scheduled an abortion at 23 weeks pregnant after the couple requested it, but felt uneasy proceeding.
"I knew that this baby, despite the diagnosis, had a great chance at survival and a great chance at leading a long life," West said. Following the birth, the couple sought and received a restraining order preventing West from seeing or holding the baby. The judge did not rule on final custody or conservatorship Tuesday, and the restraining order was left in effect.
Court documents submitted by the couple's attorney ahead of the hearing indicated Rumi was in critical condition, seemingly "suffering from potential complications" following a post-birth medical procedure. The infant was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a congenital condition where one side of the heart remains underdeveloped, impeding standard blood flow. Fewer than 1,000 infants are diagnosed with the condition each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Left untreated, it can prove fatal within days or weeks. Gilkar informed the court that her baby had no blood flow to the left side of his heart. Following surgery, she noted that he has gasped for air, choked on tubes, and required a blood transfusion.
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