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McKenna West.

Blog post by Augustin Hamilton (Quebec Life Coalition) — Photo: McKenna West

McKenna West thought that offering her services as a surrogate mother would provide extra income for her family, while helping a couple have a baby.

Through a surrogacy agency, the Alaskan woman entered into a contract with an American couple. During a 20-week ultrasound, doctors diagnosed the baby she was carrying with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a condition that can be treated.

When the couple learned that the baby they had “ordered” had this defect, they told Mrs. West to abort the baby. McKenna West could not bring herself to terminate the pregnancy, but she feared being sued. When one of her brothers offered to adopt the child if the couple no longer wanted it, she resolutely decided not to abort the baby.

Faced with Mrs. West’s refusal to have an abortion, the couple stopped sending her money and demanded that she return the money they had already sent her, as well as pay them compensation for not having an abortion (which is illogical, since it doesn’t change anything for them...).

Mrs. West is now 35 weeks pregnant, she is being sued by the couple who want her to give birth at the hospital of their choice. However, since Mrs. West has no guarantee from them that the baby will receive the heart surgery it needs at birth, she is seeking to obtain parental rights to her baby.

Fortunately, Mrs. West has found support from Live Action, a major American pro-life organization, which is providing her with legal representation.

Needless to say, Mrs. West has changed her mind about surrogacy:

"I feel like this object. They feel that because they paid me, they have these rights to my autonomy.

It's a disturbing thing to be on this side of it and realize how the contracts are so unsupportive of the woman who is going through all of it for somebody else and to think, 'Oh, because we're paying you, we're demanding this termination and if you don't do it you're liable for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars' is really sick and wrong, and this whole thing has greatly changed my perspective on surrogacy."

Frankly, between those who want the baby dead and the woman who wants it to live, it’s clear who should be recognized as the parent.