From The Texas Tribune · Terri Langford · · 1m 10s
Texas court lets baby leave state with biological parents
A Texas Supreme Court ruling clears the way for a medically fragile infant born to a surrogate to be transferred to California for specialized care.
In brief
A Texas Supreme Court ruling clears the way for a medically fragile infant born to a surrogate to be transferred to California for specialized care. When a child's medical needs conflict with custody claims, courts prioritize the child's health and survival. Originally reported by The Texas Tribune.
Surrogate tried to block baby's move
McKenna West, an Alaskan surrogate, attempted to prevent the biological parents from taking the 1-month-old infant out of Texas to California.
Court sided with biological parents
The Texas Supreme Court rejected West's request and ruled in favor of parents Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, who live in California.
Child's survival was the priority
The court emphasized that preserving the medically fragile infant's life was the paramount concern in this time-sensitive case.
“Sustaining the life of the medically fragile child is the paramount concern in this time-sensitive matter.”
Doctor recommended ICU-to-ICU transfer
The child's Texas physician provided uncontroverted medical testimony that an ICU-to-ICU transfer to Los Angeles was in the infant's best interest to preserve his life.
“the child's best interest in order to preserve the child's life as long as possible [i]s an ICU-to-ICU transfer.”
Baby can now travel to California
The ruling cleared the way for the biological parents to take the 1-month-old infant from Texas to a hospital in Los Angeles where the family lives.
What matters most
When a child's medical needs conflict with custody claims, courts prioritize the child's health and survival.
