Amid legal battle, LA couple's surrogate gives birth in Texas to baby with heart condition
Battle began after unborn child diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome
LOS ANGELES -- A cross-country legal dispute between the biological parents of a newborn boy and the woman who carried him as a surrogate has placed the infant at the center of a politically charged court case.
The baby, referred to as "Baby Gabriel" by anti-abortion activists, was born Wednesday in a Dallas hospital. His biological parents, who live in Los Angeles, say his legal name is Rumi.
The legal battle began after the unborn child was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a life-threatening condition.
McKenna West, the surrogate carrying the couple's embryo, said that once the condition was known, the Los Angeles couple she was carrying him for wanted to terminate the pregnancy.
"I felt like, when the diagnosis was made and the decision to end his life was made, that it was selfish," West said in an interview with the anti-abortion organization Live Action while she was 35 weeks pregnant.
"Even though he is not biologically mine... he knows me and to him I am his mother," West also told Live Action before the birth.
West, who lives in Alaska, said she decided to risk the massive financial fallout of breaking the surrogacy contract, and she went to the pro-life state of Texas to have the baby.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, obtained a court order stating that, "Upon the child's live birth, medically indicated stabilizing and life-sustaining care shall be provided..."
West gave birth to the child Wednesday.
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Just the day before the baby was born, the L.A. couple filed a temporary restraining order that prevented West from "representing that she is the child's parent, guardian, or medical decision-maker to anyone..."
The couple's attorney Lee Budner told Los Angeles ABC affiliate KABC that the biological parents have full legal custody of the child.
"Right now, our clients are continuing to place their baby's health and well-being first, following the advice of the baby's medical team, as they always have and just as any loving parent would," Budner said in a statement. "As if the heartbreak of his condition were not enough, they are devastated to see their family tragedy transformed into political theater by the Texas Attorney General's office and McKenna West."
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is a rare birth defect in which the left side of a baby's heart does not fully develop. According to the National Library of Medicine, children who survive surgeries used to manage the condition may still face a high risk of additional health problems.
