LEILA FADEL, HOST:
A Texas court is holding a hearing today in a high-profile custody battle over a baby born with a heart deformity to a surrogate. A California couple and a woman from Alaska, who was hired as their surrogate, have conflicting stories about what they planned before the baby was born. The case has raised questions about abortion and surrogacy in three states with very different laws. KERA's Toluwani Osibamowo is covering this. Good morning.
TOLUWANI OSIBAMOWO, BYLINE: Good morning.
FADEL: OK. So lay out the key people in this case and what's at the center of the dispute.
OSIBAMOWO: Yeah. So the folks you need to know here are husband and wife Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed from Los Angeles. According to court documents, they are the genetic parents of the baby. The couple hired Alaska nurse McKenna West as their surrogate last August, and as part of the deal, she was to get an abortion in the case of a fetal abnormality if the intended parents requested it.
So this past April, the baby was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which is when the left side of the heart is not formed properly. West says once Ahmed and Gilkar learned about the fetus' heart condition, they wanted an abortion. And according to court filings at The Associated Press sites, the couple says West agreed to an abortion, but she changed her mind. NPR has not verified these court filings.
So the couple's court filing says that they then pivoted to figuring out post-birth care in California, but West says they pressured and threatened her into getting an abortion, and they refused surgery. Now, the parents have denied refusing surgery in court filings. So West says that she fled to Texas, where she believed the baby could get the care he needed at hospitals in Dallas that could perform the necessary heart procedure.
FADEL: What does the law say about abortion clauses in surrogacy contracts, and who has the authority to make decisions?
OSIBAMOWO: Like much of this case, the answer to that is complicated. A clause like that is allowed in surrogacy cases. If this were a case where all states involved had looser rules on abortion, the surrogate would be allowed to make the decision and to suffer the financial consequences. Arthur Caplan is with the New York University School of Medicine, and he's one of the country's leading bioethics experts. Here's what he had to say about the issue.
ARTHUR CAPLAN: I think that has to be made clear again - if you hire someone in the contract, you can't make her end the pregnancy unless she wants to. She's in charge of the baby until the baby is born.
OSIBAMOWO: Now that the baby is born, it's about who can make decisions for the baby. There's already an agreement in California stating that Gilkar and Ahmed are the baby's parents.
FADEL: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and anti-abortion groups have gotten involved here. How has their involvement shaped the case?
OSIBAMOWO: Yeah. So anti-abortion groups have been involved by helping get West from Alaska to Texas and defending her in court. Paxton is a Republican who has been a staunch anti-abortion advocate, and touting those beliefs is important, especially amid his Senate race. He asked the court to force Texas hospitals to provide care if the baby was born alive, no matter what anyone else said.
FADEL: So how is the baby doing now, and what happens for him next?
OSIBAMOWO: So as of last week, the baby has received surgery. His intended parents have named him Rumi, but West, the Texas AG's office, and groups that have supported West refer to him as Baby Gabriel. Right now, there is a temporary restraining order in place that prevents West from seeing, holding, transporting or making medical decisions for the baby.
Today's hearing would decide whether to uphold that restraining order. West is relying on the part of Texas law that states the person that gives birth to the baby is their mother. There's an exception for surrogacy, but West is saying that the California contract that made Gilkar and Ahmed the baby's parents is invalid, which they, of course, deny.
FADEL: That's Toluwani Osibamowo from member station KERA in Dallas. Thank you for your reporting.
OSIBAMOWO: Of course.
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