Newborn placed back on breathing tube after heart surgery as California couple battle surrogate McKenna West in Texas court

Nausheen Gilkar wept on the witness stand, describing surrogate McKenna West as "unstable" and declaring "he's our child" as the baby — named Rumi by the couple — was put back on a breathing tube overnight after developing complications from open-heart surgery. The newborn had a Norwood procedure for a severe heart defect and remains in critical condition under close hospital monitoring. The case has become a national flashpoint over surrogacy and abortion rights, drawing right-to-life groups and GOP officeholders to West's side.

West, an Alaska cardiac nurse who calls the baby Gabriel, travelled to Texas — a state where abortion is almost entirely prohibited — and is seeking sole conservatorship over medical decisions.

West testified that at 23 weeks of pregnancy she scheduled an abortion at the couple's urging, then changed her mind, saying the baby "had a great chance at survival."

Anti-abortion groups connected West with lawyers and covered her legal costs, while the US Department of Health and Human Services put Texas hospitals on notice that they must not refuse life-saving treatment to the newborn.