Dallas Judge Delays Custody Ruling in Surrogacy Fight

A Dallas judge declined on Tuesday to decide who gets custody of a two-week-old boy born to a surrogate, instead extending a temporary restraining order for another two weeks, CBS News reported.

The order in place says the biological parents — Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, a California couple — and not surrogate McKenna West are responsible for the baby's medical decisions.

West, a nurse from Alaska, gave birth in Dallas on Aug. 12 after refusing the couple's request to end the pregnancy. She is asking a court to give her custody instead of the biological parents, according to The New York Times and the Daily Mail.

The baby remains in critical care after heart surgery. Nothing about custody or parentage has been decided.

What Each Side Says

Everything below is testimony or a claim made in court or to reporters — not established fact.

The biological parents. Gilkar testified Tuesday that surrogacy "was not her first choice, but her only option," and that an agency matched the couple with West about a year ago, per CBS News. She testified that West never told her or Ahmed that she was traveling to Texas and that West withdrew the couple's access to the child's medical records. Gilkar described West as "mentally unstable" and told the court, "She's not right. Making us run from doctor to doctor."

Gilkar also pushed back on the claim that she and her husband are refusing care: "Denying lifesaving care is not true," she said. "We are devastated ... We've never wanted anything more than those babies." Of the baby, she testified: "He's the most beautiful person I have ever seen. He's the love of our lives. He's suffering a lot."

Gilkar confirmed in court that she and Ahmed requested to terminate the surrogate pregnancy in May.

The surrogate. West says she relocated to Texas on purpose to stop the requested abortion, CBS News reported. She admitted in court to withholding medical records. On Tuesday she said she wants custody of the child but is now open to dropping any custody claims if the couple agrees to the baby's lifesaving care.

The New York Post reported that West gave emotional testimony describing the abortion procedure at over 20 weeks during Tuesday's hearing.

The Baby's Condition

Gilkar told the court the baby had no blood flow to the left side of his heart, and that since surgery he has gasped for air, choked on tubes and needed a blood transfusion.

Children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome typically need three surgeries, according to the Cleveland Clinic: the first within two weeks of birth, the second at four to six months, and the third between 18 months and 5 years old. The clinic says the condition is rare and complex and can cause lifelong complications.