Surrogate who had baby in Texas against parents’ wishes denies ‘political theater’ accusation

McKenna West, the surrogate in the center of a multi-state legal battle over a baby who was born with a rare heart condition, sought to “set the record straight.”

The surrogate at the center of a multistate legal battle over a baby who was born with a rare heart condition sought to “set the record straight” about her motivations in an op-ed published in the New York Post on Thursday.

McKenna West, a cardiac nurse from Alaska, gave birth in Texas last week to a baby boy whom she was carrying on behalf of Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar. The baby, Rumi, had surgery Monday for a rare congenital heart condition, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which often requires lifelong medical care.

In her editorial, West said she knew from her experience as a nurse that the baby she was carrying had a chance at survival through surgery.

“People have called this political theater. It isn’t,” she wrote. “This is about giving an innocent child a shot at the life he deserves.”

A representative for Gilkar and Ahmed declined to comment on West’s editorial in a statement to NBC News on Thursday, citing a request from the court-appointed guardian in the legal proceedings.