Surrogate mother McKenna West gave birth to baby boy Gabriel on Wednesday, Aug. 12, in the midst of a hurricane of legal battles. West was 20 weeks pregnant when an ultrasound revealed that Gabriel had hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a serious heart condition that requires multiple surgeries after birth. The child’s biological parents, California couple Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, requested that West terminate the pregnancy citing an “anomaly” clause in the surrogacy contract.

When West refused to undergo the abortion, Gabriel’s parents sued her for $100,000 for breach of contract and slammed her defense of the child’s life as “malicious, outrageous conduct.” But West held firm.

“Every time I thought about having to show up at the clinic, I was hysterical, and I couldn’t picture myself reacting or feeling any other way,” West said in an interview with Live Action. “So I was really scared of how I would view myself as a woman and a mother, how I’d be able to come home to my kids after participating in something like that.”

West, a nurse and single mother of two, traveled from Alaska to the pro-life state of Texas to carry the baby to term.

Before Gabriel was born, West sought parental custody to ensure that he had the best medical care for his heart condition after birth, expressing concern that his biological parents would not seek necessary medical help for him. Though her appeal was overruled by a California court order declaring the biological parents the legal guardians, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured an emergency court order on August 11, ensuring that the newborn would receive life-saving care.

“Baby Gabriel deserves a chance at life, and I will not allow anyone to unlawfully deny him medically necessary care,” Paxton stated when he announced his office’s intervention.

West has received much support from the pro-life movement. New Jersey Republican Rep. Chris Smith, co-chairman of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, stated that West has “demonstrated heroic courage and love for this baby.” Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action, aided West in relocating close to a hospital in Texas that was able to provide care for her child and praised her for her courage in carrying him to term.

The dispute over parental rights continues in the courts. Gilkar and Ahmed have legal custody according to a California trial court ruling, but West’s attorney, Lincoln Wilson, contends that West has parental rights under Texas state law since she gave birth in the state.

As the legal battles around this case drag on, it’s raising up bigger questions about the thorny legalities of surrogacy contracts in the U.S. A Texas Tribune article complained that the case “could discourage surrogacy use in Texas,” as if that would be a bad thing. Dramatic stories of surrogacy abuse abound, and some legislators are trying to do something about it. As I previously reported at NEWSworthy, a bill recently introduced in Congress would prevent federal courts from enforcing abortion clauses in surrogacy contracts. When it comes to surrogacy, pro-lifers are stepping up — and pushing back.