Surrogate McKenna West Gives Birth Three Weeks Before Due Date Following Texas Legal Victory

On last Thursday’s Megyn Kelly Show, Megyn was joined by McKenna West, a surrogate from Alaska. At 20 weeks, the baby she was carrying was diagnosed with hypo-plastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a serious condition in which the left side of the heart does not develop properly.

HLHS can typically be treated when a child is born with a series of three surgeries, but the biological parents wanted to terminate the pregnancy. West refused to get an abortion despite the parameters of her surrogacy contract and instead undertook a legal fight to save the child’s life.

The Court Order

West, a single mom of two, refused to have an abortion in Alaska and is being sued by the baby’s parents. They wanted her to get the termination in their home state of California, but West refused to go to California unless the parents agreed to get Gabriel treatment.

West appeared with her attorney Lincoln Wilson and Live Action founder Lila Rose as she awaited a court hearing in Texas, where she had moved prior to her September 2 due date. You can watch the interview below:

On Tuesday, Texas Attorney General and Republican nominee for U.S. Senate announced he had intervened in the case by filing a petition asking the district court to enter orders directing the child’s care upon birth, prohibiting his removal from the state, and setting an expedited hearing on any refusal of treatment.

The district court granted the petition Tuesday. “Upon the child’s live birth, medically indicated stabilizing and life-sustaining care shall be provided to the child pending further order of this Court. No person shall withhold, direct the withholding of, obstruct, or delay that care,” the court order stated.

West Gives Birth

As it turns out, that order came just in the nick of time for West and the child she calls Gabriel. On Wednesday, West gave birth three weeks early. 

“McKenna gave birth today in Texas,” Wilson told The Megyn Kelly Show in a statement. “She was not able to hold or see the baby due to the [temporary restraining order] the Texas court entered yesterday. It is believed that the biological parents are present and that, due to another order of the Texas court, Baby Gabriel will soon be receiving the life-saving surgery that McKenna has fought so hard for.”

On X, Rose shared that Gabriel is “doing well” and “now on the path to receiving the life-saving medical care he needs.”

Additionally, Gabriel was also appointed a guardian ad litem. On Wednesday’s show, Megyn called that a “big” development. “That person’s job is to look out for not the birth mother, not the biological parents, but Gabriel only and will fight only for the baby,” she explained. 

“Thanks to McKenna, that baby had his legal rights represented and protected by the Texas courts. And to his credit, Ken Paxton… stepped in and argued on behalf of McKenna as well, which I’m sure made a difference,” Megyn said. “And good for him because it’s one thing to say you’re pro-life, and it’s quite another to actually get in there and start swinging when it matters.”

Hope and Prayers

With the baby now getting the care he needs, it remains to be seen what will happen with his biological parents who had wanted the pregnancy to end a different way. Megyn’s guest, Emily Jashinsky, chose to be hopeful.

“It’s rare that I’m looking at a glass as being half-full as opposed to half-empty, but there may be a real glass half-full scenario here where they have a living, breathing baby that was born of them, see the error of their ways, and are able to make a cause out of it and publicly talk about how they got this wrong,” she said. “They can take that message to the public. I hope and pray that’s what happens.”

As Megyn noted, there are lots of hearts involved in this matter. “[The baby] is going to have to change his heart in order to live, and he may be changing a lot of other hearts along the way with his journey and his story, we hope, of survival and wellness,” she said.

“God bless McKenna… This has got to be very emotional for her because she has saved him, and yet she can’t hold him, she can’t help him,” Megyn noted. “No matter what happens, [she] will always be able to look at this child and say, ‘I fought for you. I saved you.’ She has saved him, thus far. And let’s just hope and pray that he is able to be saved now that he is here.”

You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Jashinsky by tuning in to episode 1,378 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.