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Omar Ahmed (right) and his wife, Nausheen Gilkar, (center) arrive for a court hearing in Dallas on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
LM Otero\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
McKenna West (center) walks in a hallway before a court hearing in Dallas on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
LM Otero\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Editor\u2019s note: This is a developing story. Check back for updates.<\/p>\n
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A Dallas County<\/a> court heard arguments Tuesday in a\u00a0surrogacy case that has captured national headlines<\/a> in recent weeks.<\/p>\n The hearing, which lasted for more than four hours, included testimony from both the baby\u2019s biological mother and the surrogate. The hearing ultimately ended with Judge Ashley\u00a0Wysocki extending an existing temporary restraining order \u2014 which bars the surrogate from seeing the baby \u2014 pending a new ruling.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The hearing is the latest development in the case of baby Rumi, who was born in Dallas earlier this month<\/a>. The baby\u2019s biological parents had requested the surrogate carrying their child to undergo an abortion, after the fetus was diagnosed with a severe heart condition. The surrogate refused, and later traveled to and gave birth in Texas. The parents have been staying in the hospital with the baby, including through an open heart surgery, since his birth.<\/p>\n At the core of Tuesday\u2019s hearing, and the core of the case, is this question: Who has legal standing as the baby\u2019s parent?<\/p>\n Nausheen Gilkar, the baby\u2019s biological mother, testified first. While Gilkar\u2019s attorneys have issued statements on her behalf, Gilkar has not gone public with her story.<\/p>\n In the Dallas court room, Gilkar sobbed on the stand. She recounted the timeline of the surrogacy agreement, and some details of the baby’s still-critical medical condition, while clutching a tissue between her hands. A red wristband encircled her right wrist, matching another wristand worn by her husband, Omar Ahmed.<\/p>\n The surrogate, McKenna West, testified second. During the bulk of her testimony, she was monotone, often taking long pauses before answering and confining her responses to \u201cyes\u201d and \u201cno.\u201d She took a shuddering breath, grabbing for a tissue, one time: When one of her attorneys asked her to describe how she had felt when she thought about terminating the pregnancy after a fetal anomaly diagnosis.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n West\u2019s testimony ended shortly before 5 p.m., but the hearing continued. The judge eventually ended the hearing and extended the temporary restraining order, which was expiring on Tuesday, pending her ruling.<\/p>\n Related: North Texas baby in surrogacy case undergoes open heart surgery, attorney says<\/a><\/p>\n The case\u00a0has its roots in a\u00a0surrogacy agreement that Gilkar and Ahmed signed with West. The surrogate was carrying the couple\u2019s biological child when, at about 20 weeks pregnant, the fetus was diagnosed with a severe heart condition. The couple, who live in California, decided they wanted to terminate the pregnancy. The surrogacy contract, which\u00a0The Dallas Morning News previously reviewed through court records<\/a>, says the intended parents may choose to terminate the pregnancy in the case of a fetal anomaly.<\/p>\n West, however, declined to undergo an abortion. A few months later, she came to Texas<\/a> and then gave birth in Dallas.<\/p>\n In court filings, Ahmed wrote that he and his wife have been invested in the baby\u2019s medical care since before his birth.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n West and her attorneys have asserted that the surrogate has a parentage claim over the baby. A temporary restraining order, issued from the Dallas County court, has so far prohibited West from seeing or holding the baby.<\/p>\n