Surrogate battles bio parents in court to save unborn baby’s life
An Alaskan surrogate is suing to prevent abortion of a baby with a treatable heart condition after biological parents invoked a contract clause demanding termination.
McKenna West, a nurse and single mother of two from Alaska, entered into a surrogacy agreement with Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists in September 2025 seeking additional income. During a routine anatomy scan at 20 weeks in April 2026, the baby she was carrying—referred to in legal filings as “Baby Gabriel”—was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a serious cardiac defect that can be addressed through surgical intervention, according to David Spector writing in New York Post.
The biological parents, identified in court documents only as A.B. and C.D., immediately invoked an “abortion on demand” clause contained in their surrogacy contract and instructed West to terminate the pregnancy. When medical providers in Alaska declined to perform the late-term procedure—a two-day intensive abortion carrying significant risks to the surrogate—the biological parents demanded West travel to Seattle for the termination.
West refused, stating she had already bonded with the unborn child and objected on moral grounds to what she described as a procedure in which doctors would inject a solution to stop the baby’s heart before dismembering him during removal from her uterus. She emphasized that the diagnosed condition is medically treatable.
Every life matters. No woman should be forced to end the life of the baby she is carrying, West stated, adding that Baby Gabriel deserves a chance at life.
Medical Prognosis and Treatment Options
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome requires surgical intervention almost immediately after birth for infant survival beyond the first week. Medical data from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital indicates that infants who undergo the necessary surgeries have a 75% survival rate to age five, while those reaching their first birthday have a 90% likelihood of surviving to age 18.
Rather than proceed with abortion, West offered to assume complete parental and financial responsibility for Baby Gabriel, releasing the biological parents from all obligations. The couple rejected this proposal and threatened legal action seeking $250,000 in damages—an amount West’s lawsuit claims would financially devastate her.
Interstate Legal Battle Intensifies
West subsequently relocated to Texas with the intention of delivering at a medical facility specializing in pediatric cardiac care. Legal proceedings are now underway in both Alaska Superior Court and California’s Second District Court of Appeal, where the biological parents are attempting to compel West to give birth in California while simultaneously seeking to establish parental rights over the child, who is due September 3.
Court filings reveal West’s suspicion that the biological parents intend to deny Baby Gabriel life-saving surgical treatment after birth, effectively ensuring his death through medical neglect. She has offered to relinquish all parental claims to the child on the condition that A.B. and C.D. commit to providing the necessary cardiac surgery, but they have refused this arrangement. Documents show the couple has discussed palliative care options with physicians.
Biological Parents’ Counter-Claims
The biological parents contend in their legal response that West is misrepresenting the situation and is motivated by financial gain. Their complaint asserts that medical professionals cannot determine whether the baby will qualify for the required surgeries because West has refused to undergo amniocentesis—a prenatal diagnostic test for genetic disorders—allegedly because she fears non-payment for the procedure.
The case raises fundamental questions about the limits of surrogacy contracts, the enforceability of abortion clauses, and whether a woman can be legally compelled to terminate a pregnancy against her conscience when carrying another couple’s biological child.
With information from New York Post
