The surrogate at the center of a wild custody dispute has reportedly been ordered to stay out of the baby’s medical decisions, according to legal documents obtained by TMZ.
McKenna West is the woman who allegedly ran off to Texas to give birth to a California couple’s baby without their consent, according to the original TMZ report. Now, per legal docs TMZ obtained, West will reportedly have absolutely no authority over the child she gave birth to.
According to the outlet, the paperwork makes clear that the biological parents — the California couple who reportedly hired West as their surrogate — are said to retain full say over medical choices for the baby, with West ordered not to interfere in any way.
The situation reportedly kicked off when West allegedly left California for Texas to deliver the baby, a move that TMZ says was made without the consent of the intended parents. That decision apparently set off a legal scramble as the biological parents sought to secure their parental rights and control over the child’s care.
Details on exactly how the dispute unfolded, and what prompted West’s alleged move to Texas, remain limited, as TMZ notes the situation has been playing out largely through legal channels. It’s unclear at this time what, if any, further legal action is expected, or how West has responded to the new order.
Surrogacy arrangements are typically governed by contracts meant to spell out exactly this kind of scenario — who has decision-making power over the child once born, and what happens if a surrogate deviates from the agreed-upon plan. When those agreements allegedly break down, as appears to be the case here, courts can be asked to step in and clarify who’s actually in charge.
For now, according to the legal docs obtained by TMZ, the answer is clear: the biological parents are reportedly the ones calling the shots on the baby’s medical care, not West.
You can read TMZ’s full original report here.
