A surrogacy dispute unfolding in Texas is drawing national attention—and highlighting just how complicated parentage can become when a surrogacy arrangement crosses state lines.
The case involves California couple Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed and their gestational surrogate, McKenna West. During the pregnancy, the baby was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a serious congenital heart condition. A disagreement followed over whether the pregnancy should continue.
West ultimately traveled to Texas, where she gave birth on August 12, 2026, and sought conservatorship of the child. The intended parents maintain that they are the child’s legal parents under their surrogacy agreement and have pursued their parental rights in court.
The dispute raises a fascinating family law question: How might a case like this play out under California law?
California’s Approach to Gestational Surrogacy
Unlike many states, California has a well-developed legal framework for gestational surrogacy. California Family Code section 7962 provides a statutory pathway that parties can use to establish parentage and obtain the benefit of a presumptively valid gestational carrier agreement. Importantly, as the California Court of Appeal recently clarified in Miles v. Gerstein, compliance with section 7962 is not required for every gestational surrogacy arrangement. Instead, parties who satisfy its requirements gain access to the statute’s streamlined protections and procedures.
Among other requirements, the intended parents and gestational carrier must have separate, independent attorneys before executing an agreement under section 7962. The agreement must identify the intended parents, address the source of the genetic material used to create the embryo, and explain how certain medical expenses will be covered.
When the statutory requirements are satisfied, the agreement is presumptively valid and cannot simply be unilaterally revoked.
Parentage Can Be Established Before Birth
California law also allows intended parents using the section 7962 process to seek a parentage judgment before the child is born.
The court can establish the intended parents as the child’s legal parents and determine that the gestational carrier is not a legal parent. However, enforcement of a pre-birth parentage judgment is stayed until the child is born.
That distinction matters.
Establishing who will legally be the child’s parents does not give intended parents control over the surrogate’s body during pregnancy. California law expressly preserves the gestational carrier’s right to make decisions concerning her own health and the health of the fetus during the pregnancy.
In other words, parentage and pregnancy-related medical decision-making are related, but legally distinct, issues.
Why the Texas Case Is So Complicated
The current dispute demonstrates what can happen when those issues collide, and when several states become involved.
The intended parents are in California, West resides in Alaska, and the child was ultimately born in Texas. That creates potential questions not only about the surrogacy agreement itself, but also about jurisdiction, parentage, custody, medical decision-making, and how courts in different states treat one another’s orders.
It is also important to remember that the Texas litigation is ongoing. The unusual facts of this case, and the involvement of multiple states, mean its ultimate outcome should not be treated as a prediction of how a California court would handle a similar dispute.
The California Takeaway
California’s surrogacy laws are designed to provide intended parents and gestational carriers with a clearer path for determining their respective rights before a child is born.
The Texas case underscores why that planning matters. A carefully drafted agreement, independent attorneys for each side, a clear understanding of medical decision-making rights, and early consideration of parentage and jurisdiction can become especially important when a surrogacy arrangement involves more than one state.
Surrogacy creates unique legal relationships, and when disagreements arise, the distinction between who is a legal parent, who makes decisions during a pregnancy, and which state’s courts have authority can make all the difference.
If you have questions about parentage, assisted reproduction, or other California family law matters, the attorneys at Butler Law, PC can help you understand how California law may apply to your circumstances.