As if the abortion question wasn’t contentious enough, just imagine how the moral complexities multiply with the introduction of contract law and surrogate moral autonomy.
See how the ‘my body my choice’ crowd suddenly falls silent when third-parties claim the right to force a woman to undergo an unwanted abortion? The surrogate mom fled to Texas where she could not be compelled to kill off the unwanted baby.
Now that the baby wass born? Look who suddenly cares about what happens to the ‘imperfect’ kid the parents so recently tried to kill!
If you’ve not been following the story from the beginning, it goes something like this.
Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar of Los Angeles hired a surrogate to carry a baby they couldn’t have on their own. Controversial to do, but it’s hardly without precedent. What made this story unusual was the discovery that this particular child had a congenital heart issue. He would require surgery.
The defect was discovered at about 20 weeks. Omar and Nausheen decided they no longer wanted McKenna West (the surrogate) to carry the child to term. They told the surrogate to abort the child. She refused. They got a court order directing McKenna to perform an abortion.
West fled to Texas, where AG Paxton intervened on McKenna’s behalf, giving McKenna protection to deliver the baby in a Dallas hospital, where he could get the needed surgery. West invoked her personal rights as the birth mother. And Texas honored those rights.
McKenna named the baby Gabriel, Omar and Nausheen — who tried to compel West to return to California prior to the child’s birth — insist the baby’s name is Rumi.
The couple’s attorney said the baby is receiving medical care and accused West and Paxton of turning a family tragedy into “political theater.”
“Our clients’ 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,” Budner said. — TexasTribune
How did we suddenly go from literally getting a judge to order the death of a disposable and imperfect child to being motivated by deep parental instincts?
Paxton’s office secured an emergency injunction providing for the child’s protection, medical treatment, and an order preventing him from being removed from Texas while other questions are sorted out.
Ken Paxton was interviewed about his office stepping in, here’s what he said:
“She came to Texas and we intervened in her case. They were trying to force her to leave and have an abortion. We stepped in and got a court order blocking her. Then we got a court order requiring that the baby be treated, life-saving treatment be done.”
“So that baby had surgery yesterday, the first surgery of three on his heart. And as far as I know, it went well. So yeah, that baby is alive today because we stepped in and we said, this is not good.”
“We’re not gonna let this baby get taken away to be torn limb from limb after it’s been chemically killed. We’re not gonna let it happen. So I’m really grateful. Things like that, you really feel like you had, you’re making a difference when you can actually save, you know whose life you’ve saved.”
The child’s future remains in question.
West has maintained that she refused to kill Gabriel in an abortion because she believed the child’s life deserved protection, and she is continuing a court fight for custody. Her attorney, Lincoln Wilson, has argued that under Texas law the woman who gives birth is the legal mother.
“She is seeking parentage of the child because she gave birth in Texas, and in Texas, if you give birth to a child, it’s your child,” Wilson said.
Budner called West’s ongoing claims “baseless” and “in violation of multiple court orders out of both Alaska and California.” – LifeNews
Interestingly, the biological parents have made public statements throughout their legal counsel (Budner) that they 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”
Some of our readers will have difficulty squaring such a claim with the known details of their story.
Somehow.
