California couple and their surrogate testify in Texas court as dispute over newborn escalates

Key Points:

• A California couple is in a Texas court dispute with their surrogate, McKenna West, over custody of their newborn son with a life-threatening heart defect, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which has worsened since birth.
• The surrogate, who opposed aborting the fetus despite the couple's request, is seeking sole conservatorship to make medical decisions, while the couple insists the child, named Rumi, is theirs and wants full parental rights.
• The couple obtained a restraining order preventing West from seeing or holding the baby after birth, and the judge has yet to rule on final custody or conservatorship.
• West's attorneys argue the couple initially wanted an abortion and question their commitment to life-saving treatment, while the couple accuses West of breaching their surrogacy contract.
• Surrogacy laws vary by state with no federal regulation, complicating legal interpretations in this high-profile case involving conflicting parental claims.