Surrogate battles biological parents' push to abort diagnosed baby in court

McKenna West, a single mother and nurse from Alaska, entered a surrogacy arrangement with Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists in September 2025. An anatomy scan in April 2026 revealed the fetus, dubbed "Baby Gabriel," had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a severe yet operable heart defect. The child's biological parents, identified only as A.B. and C.D., cited an "abortion on demand" provision in their contract and pressed for a late-term abortion, which local physicians declined to carry out.

West refused to abort, proposing to take full custody and financial responsibility, an offer the parents rejected and followed with a $250,000 lawsuit threat. She relocated to Texas to give birth at a hospital experienced in pediatric cardiac surgery, while the parents continue litigation in Alaska and California courts to compel a California birth and obtain parental rights, even discussing palliative care for the infant.