A Surrogate Refused to Abort a Baby With a Heart Defect—Then Fled to Texas So She’d Count as the Mother

14 Aug 2026, 15:49 · Thought Catalog

McKenna West / Facebook

Updated 3 hours ago, August 14, 2026

A surrogacy arrangement between an Alaska woman and a California couple has ended in a legal battle over a newborn with a serious heart defect — one the baby’s biological parents wanted to terminate, and one the woman who carried him refused to give up on.

McKenna West was carrying a baby for the couple when a 20-week scan found hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a defect in which the left side of the heart doesn’t form correctly. Doctors said the baby would need three surgeries to survive.

His biological parents wanted the pregnancy terminated. West decided he deserved a chance — and now a court says she can’t go near him.

A woman with curly dark hair smiles in a selfie, wearing a patterned sleeveless top. McKenna West / Facebook

Her surrogacy contract allowed the intended parents to choose termination if an anomaly turned up. West refused, and she moved to Texas, where state law would recognize her as the birth mother, according to The Dallas Morning News.

She had been due September 2 but delivered the boy, named Gabriel, early Wednesday in the Dallas area, her attorney Lincoln Wilson told the paper.

The biological parents now have temporary custody, and legal filings obtained by TMZ say West will have no authority over the child. She isn’t allowed to see or care for Gabriel, though her attorney said she has considered taking him if a court rules she can.

Wearing purple cat-eye glasses and a denim head wrap, the same woman beams in a close-up selfie taken at home. McKenna West / Facebook

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured an emergency order requiring UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Medical Center of Dallas to provide life-saving care to the baby. The intended parents are suing West, with a court date later this month.

Lee Budner, the attorney for the intended parents, said their “only focus at this time is ensuring that their baby receives the medical care that he vitally needs and that they, as his parents, are able to spend every precious moment they can with him.”

Gold hoop earrings and the same distinctive purple frames on full display, she grins from the passenger seat of a car with greenery passing in the background. McKenna West / Facebook

Before the birth, West told Live Action she simply believed Gabriel deserved a chance at life.

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