The legal battle over Baby Gabriel took a dramatic turn this week when the California couple who repeatedly sought to abort him obtained physical custody of the newborn just hours after his birth in Texas, even as the surrogate who refused their demands continues fighting for parental rights.

Surrogate McKenna West, an Alaska nurse and mother of two, rejected the biological parents' demands for an abortion after a 20-week diagnosis of hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a serious congenital defect that requires multiple surgeries but is treatable.

West fled to Texas for legal protection and specialized care, giving birth to the boy, whom she named Gabriel, on Wednesday at a Dallas hospital.