US News
Dallas judge delays custody decision in surrogacy dispute over newborn with heart defect
A Texas judge extended a temporary restraining order for two weeks as legal claims continue between intended parents and a surrogate mother who moved states to avoid a requested abortion.
The short version
- A Dallas judge delayed a custody ruling and extended a temporary restraining order by two weeks in an ongoing dispute over a newborn with a severe congenital heart defect.
- The surrogate mother relocated from Alaska to Texas to avoid a pregnancy termination requested by the intended parents after an in utero heart diagnosis.
- The intended parents testified that they want the child and are pursuing all required medical care, while confirming they had requested to terminate the pregnancy in May.
- The infant remains in critical care following the first of three required heart surgeries.
Key facts
- A Dallas judge extended a temporary restraining order by two weeks, delaying a custody decision for a newborn boy born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.[CBS News]
- The surrogate, McKenna West, relocated from Alaska to Texas to give birth on Aug. 12 after the intended parents requested an abortion following the baby's diagnosis around 20 weeks of pregnancy.[CBS News]
- Intended parents Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed testified that they want the child and are taking all necessary medical steps, while confirming they had requested a termination in May.[CBS News]
- The Texas Attorney General's office intervened in the case, securing a court order directing medical care and placing medical decision-making authority with the intended parents rather than the surrogate.[CBS News]
- The baby has completed the first of three planned surgeries required for hypoplastic left heart syndrome and remains in critical care.[CBS News]