A surrogate mother who was contractually obligated to have an abortion refused and gave birth against the wishes of the child’s biological parents. Now a custody battle is underway while the newborn receives life-saving heart surgeries.
After struggling to have a baby, California couple Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed conceived one through in vitro fertilization. They then arranged to pay McKenna West, who lived in Alaska, to have the embryo implanted in her uterus as a surrogate. West agreed to carry the child through birth and give him to the couple.
Around the 20th week of pregnancy, doctors detected a serious heart defect in the unborn child. Citing a clause in their contract, the biological parents asked McKenna to abort the baby.
She refused.
Doctors diagnosed the unborn baby with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which can be treated with surgery soon after birth, followed by two more operations later. Records show 70 percent of babies who receive treatment live to age one, and of that group, 90 percent live to adolescence. Of those, 31 percent live to age 35 with no heart transplant, longer if they receive one.
When West made the decision to refuse abortion, she reached out to the pro-life organization Live Action.
“I felt hopeful for sure,” West said in an interview with Live Action’s founder Lila Rose. “I knew that it wasn’t a death sentence of a diagnosis. I personally know someone whose daughter had the same diagnosis, and she’s going to be 16 soon.”
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Live Action helped West get to Texas, where abortion is banned. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton then issued an order requiring hospitals to provide lifesaving care to the child.
West successfully gave birth on August 12th. She calls him Gabriel, and his biological parents named him Rumi. Soon after, he underwent open-heart surgery and remains in critical condition.
Meanwhile, both sides are in a custody dispute in Texas. West is seeking to reverse a California court’s restraining order against her that also declared Gilkar and Ahmed as parents.
In court, Gilkar declared, “He’s our child,” and said of West, “She’s trying to take him from us,” adding, “He’s the love of our lives.”
She also told the court she did not regret the decision to ask for an abortion.
West’s attorney asked Gilkar, “Would you trust somebody to care for your child that wanted your child dead?”
West testified, “He is here, and he has a birthday because of the fight I put up.”
Judge Ashley Wysocki extended the temporary restraining order and did not make a ruling on parental rights, which could come at any time.
Meanwhile, Gilkar and Ahmed are reportedly suing West for $100,000 for breach of contract for not aborting the baby at their request.
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