Texas court allows infant to be transferred to California for treatment — The Guardian
The Texas Supreme Court in the United States has allowed a one-month-old infant born to surrogate mother McKenna West to be transferred to Los Angeles for treatment of a severe heart defect. The child’s biological parents, Naushin Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, who live in California, may take the infant to a hospital in Los Angeles, The Guardian reports.
Court decision
In its ruling, the court said that the top priority in the urgent case is saving the life of the child, who requires specialized medical care. The court also cited testimony from a Texas doctor, who said that the opportunity to transfer the infant between intensive care units is time-limited and currently available.
West had sought to block the child’s departure from Texas. Earlier, a California court recognized the biological parents’ custody rights. West’s lawyers did not comment after the Texas Supreme Court’s decision.
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Dispute over custody and treatment
The boy, whom the biological parents named Rumi, has hypoplastic left heart syndrome. This rare defect impairs blood circulation, requires complex surgeries and can be fatal without treatment.
The condition was detected during the pregnancy. Gilkar and Ahmed then asked West to terminate the pregnancy. West, who lives in Alaska, traveled to Texas to give birth, where abortions are prohibited.
West and her representatives claim that the couple tried to force her to have an abortion. Gilkar and Ahmed’s lawyers say that West initially agreed to the procedure but later began a legal battle for custody. West also appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming that the parents could transfer the child to hospice care. The couple’s lawyers denied this claim and stressed that a ruling in West’s favor could create uncertainty over the authority to make medical decisions for the child.
