Texas court weighs custody in surrogate baby dispute tied to abortion debate

In Dallas, a California couple and their surrogate are in a courtroom dispute over a newborn diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The couple seeks parental rights and argues the surrogate violated their surrogacy contract, while the surrogate seeks sole conservatorship for medical decisions and says the couple initially wanted an abortion. A restraining order keeps the two sides apart as the judge considers who should govern the child’s medical care; no final ruling was issued at the hearing, highlighting how surrogacy and abortion politics intersect with family law.