LOS ANGELES (KABC) — 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The legal battle began after the unborn child was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a life-threatening condition.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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…”<\/p>\n
West gave birth to the child Wednesday.<\/p>\n
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…”<\/p>\n
The couple’s attorney Lee Budner told 7 On Your Side that the biological parents have full legal custody of the child.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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