Texas
Surrogate gives birth after judge orders life-saving care for newborn
DALLAS (AP) — A California couple’s surrogate who went to Texas in an escalating dispute over treating a congenital heart condition gave birth Wednesday, a day after a judge in Dallas ordered life-sustaining care for the newborn.
The child was receiving stabilizing care and scheduled to undergo surgery at a Texas hospital, according to an attorney for McKenna West, the surrogate mother whose case has drawn widening national support from right-to-life groups and Republican officials.
West was carrying the child for a California couple she has accused of wanting to end the pregnancy after the fetus was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a life-threatening heart condition.
A judge on Tuesday ordered the child to receive life-sustaining treatment after Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened in support of the surrogate.
The couple, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, have denied in court filings that they intended to refuse surgery once the child was born. Lee Budner, an attorney for the couple, did not immediately return emails and phone messages seeking comment Wednesday.
In a statement to The Texas Tribune, Budner said the baby was receiving medical care and accused West and Paxton of turning a family tragedy into “political theater.”
“Our clients’ only focus at this time is ensuring that their baby receives the medical care that he vitally needs and that they, as his parents, are able to spend every precious moment they can with him,” Budner said.
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is a condition where the left side of the heart prevents normal blood flow. If untreated, the condition causes severe symptoms such as breathing problems, weak pulse and ashen or bluish skin.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the condition must be treated with multiple surgeries that are complex and challenging. About 925 babies in the U.S. are born with HLHS each year, according to the CDC.
Without treatment, children affected by the heart defect can die within days or weeks. Surgical repairs are not necessarily cures, and additional surgeries or heart transplants may be needed, according to the CDC.
West’s lawyers have alleged the couple spent weeks pressuring West to seek an abortion after learning of the diagnosis at 20 weeks.
In court documents, the couple argues that West broke a surrogacy contract and that a California court determined she has no rights to legal or physical custody of the child.
They also dispute they intended to refuse surgery, saying that medical professionals had told them it was not possible to determine whether the baby would be a candidate for open-heart surgery.
“That is not and has never been our position,” Ahmed wrote in court documents filed in Texas. “Since Ms. West moved to Texas, we have consistently sought the opportunity to consult with physicians caring for our child to make informed medical decisions for him as his parents.”
West was not able to see or hold the child because of a temporary restraining order that was entered by the couple, according to Wilson.
University of Texas School of Law professor Rachel Rebouché, who specializes in reproductive law, said disputes like this one are rare.
Contracts usually include language where parents and surrogates agree on issues of medical care and when or how to end a pregnancy, but she said “those are aspirational, not enforceable in court.”
Texas law gives parents the rights to make decisions about medical care, but they don’t have the right to deny care in a manner that amounts to medical abuse or neglect, Rebouché said. She said Texas courts have extensive powers to issues orders in the best interest of the child, Rebouché said.
New York
Civil rights agency moves to drop subpoena action against Nike in DEI-related case
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal civil rights agency is dropping a subpoena enforcement action against Nike, saying the company has complied with requests for information as part of an investigation into the sportswear giant’s diversity and inclusion policies.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the motion to dismiss in Missouri federal court Wednesday, seven months after asking the court to order Nike to fully comply with the subpoena. In its court filing, the EEOC said that between March and August, Nike had provided “information and documents responsive to the subpoena,” leaving “no remaining controversy” for the court to resolve.
Nike is one of the highest companies targeted by EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas’ campaign against corporate diversity and inclusion policies, which the Trump administration claims discriminate against white men and others. The EEOC has also filed a lawsuit against The New York Times alleging that the news organization discriminated against a white editor who was rejected for a role that went to a multiracial woman. In December, Lucas posted a social media call-out urging white men to file complaints if they have experienced discrimination based on race or sex.
The investigation against Nike, however, did not stem from a worker charge but from a complaint that Lucas filed herself in May 2024, alleging that the company was discriminating against white employees. Her charge cited Nike’s publicly shared information about mentorship and other programs designed to foster diversity, data showing it had increased the number of minorities in its leadership ranks and its publicly stated goal of achieving 35% representation of racial and ethnic minorities in its corporate workforce by 2025.
The subpoena enforcement action against Nike offered a glimpse into an EEOC investigation into a charge, a process that normally remains confidential unless it results in fines, settlements, legal action or other public actions.
The EEOC has sought data on Nike’s employment decisions dating back years, including its criteria for selecting employees for layoffs, how it tracks and uses worker race and ethnicity data, and information about programs that allegedly provided race-restricted mentoring, leadership or career development opportunities, according to court documents.
It was unclear if Nike had provided all of the information the EEOC had demanded.
In February, the company called the court action a “surprising and unusual escalation,” saying it had handed over thousands of pages of information to the EEOC and was in the process of sharing more. In court filings, Nike called many of the requests overly broad and burdensome, saying they amounted to a “fishing expedition” for “information about every employment decision in the “idle hope that evidence of wrongdoing might be uncovered for one of them.”
Surrogate gives birth after judge orders life-saving care for newborn
DALLAS (AP) — A California couple’s surrogate who went to Texas in an escalating dispute over treating a congenital heart condition gave birth Wednesday, a day after a judge in Dallas ordered life-sustaining care for the newborn.
The child was receiving stabilizing care and scheduled to undergo surgery at a Texas hospital, according to an attorney for McKenna West, the surrogate mother whose case has drawn widening national support from right-to-life groups and Republican officials.
West was carrying the child for a California couple she has accused of wanting to end the pregnancy after the fetus was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a life-threatening heart condition.
A judge on Tuesday ordered the child to receive life-sustaining treatment after Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened in support of the surrogate.
The couple, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, have denied in court filings that they intended to refuse surgery once the child was born. Lee Budner, an attorney for the couple, did not immediately return emails and phone messages seeking comment Wednesday.
In a statement to The Texas Tribune, Budner said the baby was receiving medical care and accused West and Paxton of turning a family tragedy into “political theater.”
“Our clients’ only focus at this time is ensuring that their baby receives the medical care that he vitally needs and that they, as his parents, are able to spend every precious moment they can with him,” Budner said.
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is a condition where the left side of the heart prevents normal blood flow. If untreated, the condition causes severe symptoms such as breathing problems, weak pulse and ashen or bluish skin.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the condition must be treated with multiple surgeries that are complex and challenging. About 925 babies in the U.S. are born with HLHS each year, according to the CDC.
Without treatment, children affected by the heart defect can die within days or weeks. Surgical repairs are not necessarily cures, and additional surgeries or heart transplants may be needed, according to the CDC.
West’s lawyers have alleged the couple spent weeks pressuring West to seek an abortion after learning of the diagnosis at 20 weeks.
In court documents, the couple argues that West broke a surrogacy contract and that a California court determined she has no rights to legal or physical custody of the child.
They also dispute they intended to refuse surgery, saying that medical professionals had told them it was not possible to determine whether the baby would be a candidate for open-heart surgery.
“That is not and has never been our position,” Ahmed wrote in court documents filed in Texas. “Since Ms. West moved to Texas, we have consistently sought the opportunity to consult with physicians caring for our child to make informed medical decisions for him as his parents.”
West was not able to see or hold the child because of a temporary restraining order that was entered by the couple, according to Wilson.
University of Texas School of Law professor Rachel Rebouché, who specializes in reproductive law, said disputes like this one are rare.
Contracts usually include language where parents and surrogates agree on issues of medical care and when or how to end a pregnancy, but she said “those are aspirational, not enforceable in court.”
Texas law gives parents the rights to make decisions about medical care, but they don’t have the right to deny care in a manner that amounts to medical abuse or neglect, Rebouché said. She said Texas courts have extensive powers to issues orders in the best interest of the child, Rebouché said.
New York
Civil rights agency moves to drop subpoena action against Nike in DEI-related case
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal civil rights agency is dropping a subpoena enforcement action against Nike, saying the company has complied with requests for information as part of an investigation into the sportswear giant’s diversity and inclusion policies.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the motion to dismiss in Missouri federal court Wednesday, seven months after asking the court to order Nike to fully comply with the subpoena. In its court filing, the EEOC said that between March and August, Nike had provided “information and documents responsive to the subpoena,” leaving “no remaining controversy” for the court to resolve.
Nike is one of the highest companies targeted by EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas’ campaign against corporate diversity and inclusion policies, which the Trump administration claims discriminate against white men and others. The EEOC has also filed a lawsuit against The New York Times alleging that the news organization discriminated against a white editor who was rejected for a role that went to a multiracial woman. In December, Lucas posted a social media call-out urging white men to file complaints if they have experienced discrimination based on race or sex.
The investigation against Nike, however, did not stem from a worker charge but from a complaint that Lucas filed herself in May 2024, alleging that the company was discriminating against white employees. Her charge cited Nike’s publicly shared information about mentorship and other programs designed to foster diversity, data showing it had increased the number of minorities in its leadership ranks and its publicly stated goal of achieving 35% representation of racial and ethnic minorities in its corporate workforce by 2025.
The subpoena enforcement action against Nike offered a glimpse into an EEOC investigation into a charge, a process that normally remains confidential unless it results in fines, settlements, legal action or other public actions.
The EEOC has sought data on Nike’s employment decisions dating back years, including its criteria for selecting employees for layoffs, how it tracks and uses worker race and ethnicity data, and information about programs that allegedly provided race-restricted mentoring, leadership or career development opportunities, according to court documents.
It was unclear if Nike had provided all of the information the EEOC had demanded.
In February, the company called the court action a “surprising and unusual escalation,” saying it had handed over thousands of pages of information to the EEOC and was in the process of sharing more. In court filings, Nike called many of the requests overly broad and burdensome, saying they amounted to a “fishing expedition” for “information about every employment decision in the “idle hope that evidence of wrongdoing might be uncovered for one of them.”
