McKenna West, a surrogate in her 35th week, is locked in a legal battle after the biological parents demanded a late-term abortion when a 20-week scan showed a treatable heart defect in the baby she carries, known as Baby Gabriel.
McKenna West is a nurse and single mother of two who agreed to carry a child via surrogacy and now faces pressure from the biological parents to end the pregnancy after a prenatal scan identified hypoplastic left heart syndrome, or HLHS. The parents cited an “abortion on demand clause” in the surrogacy agreement when they pushed for termination, and Alaskan doctors declined to perform the multi-day, high-risk procedure at 20 weeks. West has refused, insisting the baby deserves a chance, and the dispute has moved into the courts.
HLHS is serious but treatable with specialized, staged surgeries and ongoing care, and many children with the condition survive into adulthood with modern treatment. Without intervention, however, HLHS is typically fatal in the first weeks of life, which is why the medical options matter so much in this case. West offered to take full custody of Baby Gabriel to ensure he gets care, but the parents rejected that offer and threatened to sue her for $250,000.
Court filings show the parents are determined to force an abortion and are seeking to move the case to California to find a doctor who will perform the procedure. West described her horror in those filings at the idea of the child being “ripped from her uterus” and injected with a solution that will “stop his heart,” words that underscore how stark the choices feel to the surrogate. The complaint from the parents accuses West of refusing necessary prenatal testing and questions her motives, claiming she wants their money instead of following the contract.
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The legal complaint quotes, “Unfortunately, there is no way to know if their child will be eligible for the surgeries he needs because West refuses to submit to an amniocentesis [a prenatal test that checks for genetic disorders] because she is afraid she will not get paid for it,” the complaint read. That line is part of a larger fight about control, responsibility, and what the surrogacy contract actually allows when parents and carrier disagree on life-and-death medical decisions. West has said she would give up parental rights if the parents guarantee the surgery, a trade she offered to secure the baby’s future.
West has been explicit about her view on forced abortion. She said, “Every life matters. No woman should be forced to end the life of the baby she is carrying — including me… Baby Gabriel should receive a chance at life.” Those words have driven a pro-life defense of her decision and galvanized attention from advocacy groups and medical ethicists who see this as a test case for surrogacy contracts and reproductive choice. For many conservatives, the case reads as a stark example of why individual conscience and the right to refuse participation in abortion should be protected.
The parents, identified in filings as A.B. and C.D., argue they have contractual rights and that the surrogacy agreement gives them control when certain conditions are met. They have sought to enforce those clauses even as West and local physicians resist the procedure on ethical and medical grounds. The dispute has expanded beyond paperwork into questions about where a birth should take place, which hospitals will or will not perform procedures, and who ultimately has authority over a child before birth.
Medical facts carry weight here: specialists can perform staged heart surgeries that give many HLHS babies a viable chance at life. Data from Seattle Children’s Hospital notes that babies who receive first-stage surgery for HLHS have a success rate of 75 to 90 percent, with long-term childhood survival reaching roughly 70 to 75 percent after completing all staged procedures. Those outcomes matter to West and to caregivers who argue that offering the child surgery is a reasonable, life-affirming choice.
With the due date set for September 3, the clock is ticking and emotions are raw. West initially traveled to Texas looking for a hospital that would provide care rather than terminate the pregnancy, and she has been preparing to fight legally and publicly to keep her options open for the baby. The parents’ threats of litigation and a six-figure financial penalty create enormous pressure and raise questions about whether contracts can coerce medical choices that affect another person’s body.
This case confronts basic questions about bodily autonomy, parental rights, and the law’s reach into medical decisions during pregnancy. It also puts a spotlight on surrogacy arrangements and the limits of written clauses when they collide with real-world medical complexities. Whatever the court decides, the outcome will likely influence future contracts, hospital policies, and how states treat conflicts between intended parents and surrogates.
As legal teams prepare for the next steps and medical experts weigh in, Baby Gabriel’s fate hangs in the balance between available surgical options and the will of those who claim authority over him. The case is now a focal point for debates over life, choice, and responsibility, and it will likely resonate beyond this family as courts consider how to adjudicate similarly fraught disputes in the future.
