McKenna West, Alaska surrogate mom fights for child custody after defying biological parents’ demands for abortion upon learning of fetus having heart condition as ‘Baby Gabriel’ is born as natural parents insist bringing baby boy back with them to California where they live.
It sounded simple and ‘convenient,’ outsource for a womb… but there was a catch.
A newborn born to a surrogate despite the biological parents’ demands the carrier abort the fetus upon learning of the fetus having a severe but treatable heart condition is now in the custody of its natural parents. The move comes a day after the surrogate giving birth to a baby boy.
Nausheen Gilkar, 43, and Omar Ahmed, 45, were in physical possession of their newborn son after McKenna West gave birth to him on Wednesday morning, TMZ reported.
Biological parents file for custody of newborn who they wanted to abort
Lee Bunder, of Dallas-based family attorney’s office Calabrese Bunder, told the outlet that the child, whom West named ‘Baby Gabriel,’ is receiving medical care while in their custody. Gilkar and Ahmed have reportedly picked a different name for the boy.
Bunder added that his clients are focused on the baby’s health and following the advice of medical professionals about treatment for his hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
The baby was diagnosed with the defect during West’s 20-week scan. The condition according to the mayoclinic means that the left side of his heart is too small and cannot pump blood to the rest of his body.
After the diagnosis, the California couple told West she must get an abortion, only for the surrogate to refuse. The parents relocated to Texas after finding a hospital in Dallas that has a high success rate for babies with the defect.
The story quickly caught the country’s attention, and just one day before his birth, West was granted clearance to get life-saving care for the baby in Texas, but she was forbidden to have contact with the child after his birth, a judge ruled.
Newborn with heart condition receives medical treatment in Texas upon birth
On Wednesday, the baby was born and received life-saving surgery right away, West’s attorney, Lincoln Wilson, told The Dallas Morning News.
To date, Gilkar and Ahmed have declined to publicly comment on the case.
According to their attorney, the couple is ‘devastated’ over the attention to it.
‘As if the heartbreak of his condition were not enough, they are devastated to see their family tragedy transformed into political theater by the Texas Attorney General’s office and McKenna West,’ Bunder said.
The boy is ‘now receiving medical care provided by a team of pediatric experts,’ Budner told the New York Times — adding they will ‘place their baby’s health and well-being first, following the advice of the baby’s medical team.’
The child’s biological parents first mentioned that West should get an abortion after learning of the defect.
West, 28, a nurse and mother of two, hailing hailing from Alaska, signed a contract with the couple that included a clause that would require her to abort the baby in the event of an ‘anomaly.’
Define anomaly? And what if the surrogate believes otherwise?
West expressed concern over the clause to the Connecticut-based Worldwide Surrogacy Specialist, but the agency told her a situation like that is rare.
She went on to ask the agency if she could help financially assist the couple regarding care for their child so they wouldn’t abort him, and told his parents she’s heard of people surviving with the condition.
Despite her best efforts, Ahmed told West he and his wife had already removed the baby’s 12-week ultrasound from their fridge at home and told her she could mail the 20-week images – but to address the envelope only to him.
After West refusing the couple’s demands to abort the fetus, the surrogate traveled to Texas, where she would be recognized as the birth mother under state law.
The case which has overtones of pro-life vs abortion activists naturally eventually drew the attention of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton who intervened on behalf of West — pushing an emergency court order urging doctors to give the baby life-saving care upon his birth to stop him from being taken out of the state
West went on to discover a hospital in Texas with a 100 percent success rate in initially treating newborn heart defects.
She then told the surrogacy agency that she would live with a friend in Texas to mitigate the costs for the couple, but a liaison for the agency said the biological parents were still concerned about the baby’s future quality of life.
NEW: Parents begging for abortion of ‘Baby Gabiel’ regain custody of the child after the surrogate fled to Texas to have the baby.
Nausheen Gilkar, 43, and Omar Ahmed, 45, were trying to have their surrogate, McKenna West, 28, abort the baby after the baby was diagnosed with… pic.twitter.com/hwxNaB0j1a
— E X X ➠A L E R T S (@ExxAlerts) August 13, 2026
Pro life vs abortion activists
Meanwhile, West, who would have been 24-weeks pregnant at the time of the abortion, was appalled at the idea that doctors would inject the baby with ‘a solution that will stop his heart and then he’ll be literally ripped apart and dismembered as he’s taken from [her] uterus,’ Live Action previously reported.
West was soon put in touch with Live Action founder and president Lila Rose, who assured the surrogate that she would help her and her children get to Texas to meet with doctors about saving the baby’s life.
The biological parents went on to file a $250,000 lawsuit demanding that West return the money they had paid her as well as any additional charges.
They also demanded she come to them in California to give birth, but it was unclear whether they would allow doctors to perform the life-saving surgery or if they would only provide him with ‘comfort care’.
Through her attorneys, West agreed to go to California if the parents commit to providing the baby with surgery.
West in turn filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of Alaska seeking sole custody of the baby so she can allow doctors in Texas to treat him.
Alliance Defending Freedom, the firm Wilson works for, issued a statement after taking on West as a client.
‘It’s an honor and privilege to represent McKenna in her courageous stand for Baby Gabriel’s life. Every life matters. No woman should be forced to kill the baby she is carrying, and every child deserves a chance at life.
‘We are thrilled that the court’s order calls for Baby Gabriel to receive the surgery necessary to save his life. And we are so grateful for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s heroic, invaluable efforts to preserve this precious child’s life.’
West at present is not allowed to see or hold ‘Baby Gabriel’ due to a court order. The surrogate mother currently has no authority over the baby, according to legal documents.
A temporary restraining order obtained by Gilkar and Ahmed strips West of any decision-making about the newborn’s medical care.
It also states she can’t remove the boy from the hospital, represent herself as a parent or interfere with the biological parents’ “exclusive right access” to the boy.
The order is in place until at least Aug. 25 at 1 p.m. — when West is ordered to appear before the district court in Dallas County.
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