{"id":406668,"date":"2026-08-14T18:24:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T18:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/406668\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T18:24:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T18:24:08","slug":"alaska-surrogate-case-amid-legal-battle-mckenna-west-gives-birth-in-texas-to-baby-with-hypoplastic-left-heart-syndrome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/406668\/","title":{"rendered":"Alaska surrogate case: Amid legal battle, McKenna West gives birth in Texas to baby with hypoplastic left heart syndrome"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/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

SEE ALSO: From hope to heartbreak: Families allege surrogacy escrow company stole millions<\/a><\/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 Los Angeles ABC affiliate KABC 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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