Story perspectives

Paxton Gets Order Requiring Hospitals Treat Baby Born Aug. 12

8/15/2026

Summary

Story summary

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured an August 11 order that hospitals treat baby born on August 12.
Surrogate McKenna West gave birth in Dallas after refusing parents’ request for an abortion despite the infant’s left-heart-side underdevelopment.
Parents Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar obtained an August 11 ruling that bars West from decision-making or possession of child.
The parents filed a $250,000 lawsuit with a hearing on the Texas orders scheduled for August 25.

History

Historical Context

Roe v. Wade, decided in 1973, made abortion legal nationwide and spurred a rise in the national abortion rate that peaked at 29.3 procedures per 1,000 women in 1980. Decades of state restrictions later, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s 2024 order for a newborn’s relinquishment revives the controversy, prompting calls for a Supreme Court review.

1 of 2

Story summary

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured an August 11 order that hospitals treat baby born on August 12.
Surrogate McKenna West gave birth in Dallas after refusing parents’ request for an abortion despite the infant’s left-heart-side underdevelopment.
Parents Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar obtained an August 11 ruling that bars West from decision-making or possession of child.
The parents filed a $250,000 lawsuit with a hearing on the Texas orders scheduled for August 25.

1 / 2