Family · Dallas-Fort Worth, TX Metro · August 20, 2026
Dallas Surrogacy Custody Fight Highlights Life, Parental-Rights Conflicts
A Dallas County family court is weighing a custody dispute between a surrogate and the biological parents of a newborn, Rumi, who was born with a heart defect requiring surgery, the Texas Tribune reports. Surrogate McKenna West alleges the intended parents, Ahmed and Gilkar, initially planned to refuse medical care and pressured her toward abortion — claims their attorney, Lee Budner, denies, saying they immediately consented to surgery. Courts in Alaska and California have already ruled in the parents' favor, and a Dallas judge rejected West's request for a restraining order, but her attorneys continue pursuing custody. West is backed by Live Action, Alliance Defending Freedom, Texas Alliance for Life, and Texas Right to Life, and Attorney General Ken Paxton has intervened. Legal experts say the case could reshape Texas surrogacy law by weakening intended-parent rights and termination clauses in surrogacy contracts, as state lawmakers, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, already weigh restrictions on commercial surrogacy and IVF.
Source: texastribune.org
Why Bible-Believing Christians Should Care
This case sits at the intersection of two biblical convictions this publication holds without compromise: the sanctity of innocent human life and the integrity of parental authority under God-ordained family structures. Christian legal advocates are rightly raising alarm over allegations that intended parents sought to withhold care or coerce abortion — actions Scripture condemns unequivocally. At the same time, conservative Christians should watch closely how courts define parenthood itself, since commercial surrogacy already raises serious concerns about commodifying children and motherhood. Believers considering assisted reproduction, and those advising them, should understand both the legal risks and the moral questions surrogacy contracts do not resolve.
Open thy mouth for the dumb, in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. — Proverbs 31:8
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From the book
Defense of the family begins with jurisdiction. We do not defend parental rights because we are conservative. We defend them because God established them. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 locates the primary responsibility: "These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." That command is given to parents rather than to the priesthood or the king.
— Chapter 18, “The Jurisdictional Mandate”
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