Surrogacy Court Fight Escalates as California Parents Raise Alarm Over Newborn’s Worsening Condition
The legal fight over a baby born at a center that’s at the heart of a bitter surrogacy dispute has escalated, as his California intended parents allege to a Texas court that his life-threatening heart condition has worsened.
Nausheen Gilkar and her husband, Omar Ahmed, were in a Dallas courtroom as they continued their battle with surrogate McKenna West over parental rights and medical decisions for the baby, which they refer to as Rumi.
The newborn was born on August 12th with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a severe congenital heart defect in which the left side of the heart is underdeveloped and is unable to function properly.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Gilkar told the court the baby had suffered from severe complications after surgery, such as trouble breathing and a blood transfusion.
“He’s the love of our lives. He’s suffering a lot,” she said.
West, who is seeking sole conservatorship, says she should have control over the baby’s medical care. Her lawyers have referred to the couple’s previous request to have the pregnancy terminated once the baby was diagnosed with a condition.
West told the court she had been uneasy about the termination of the pregnancy and felt the baby had a chance of survival.
The conflict has left the long-term arrangements for the newborn’s parenthood unresolved. A restraining order barring West from seeing or holding the baby is still in effect.
At the last hearing, the judge did not make a final decision on custody or conservatorship.
The legal action is ongoing and the baby is the focus of a dispute between adults, and his immediate medical needs are a key issue.
