By The legal battle over Baby Gabriel has taken another remarkable turn: The biological parents who wanted their surrogate to abort him after doctors discovered a serious heart defect are now suing her for more than $100,000 for refusing to do it.
Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed filed a countersuit against McKenna West, the 28-year-old Alaska nurse who carried their child, in the weeks before West gave birth Aug. 12 in Texas. Their son was diagnosed during the pregnancy with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare congenital condition in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped.
The lawsuit adds another layer to a case that has already become a three-state fight over abortion, surrogacy contracts, parental rights and whether a child born with a serious disability is entitled to lifesaving treatment.
As New Conservative Post previously reported, West was about 20 weeks pregnant when doctors diagnosed the condition. Gilkar and Ahmed wanted the pregnancy terminated. West refused, eventually traveling to Texas, where she sought legal protection for herself and the child. The biological parents have denied forcing West to undergo an abortion and said in court filings that the parties initially agreed to terminate the pregnancy before West changed her mind.
The surrogacy agreement called for West to receive $60,000 and contained a provision addressing termination if serious problems were discovered with the baby. Gilkar and Ahmed now contend that West breached that agreement by refusing the abortion and are asking for more than $100,000 in damages, along with additional compensation over what the lawsuit calls West’s “malicious, outrageous conduct.”
Lincoln Wilson, an attorney representing West, said Gilkar and Ahmed “haven’t given [West] anything since she declined to terminate the pregnancy.”
“She is seeking parentage of the child because she gave birth in Texas, and in Texas, if you give birth to a child, it’s your child,” Wilson said.
That claim is also being contested.
Before giving birth, West traveled from Alaska to Texas and sought custody of the child. Gilkar and Ahmed, who live in California, have argued that West violated their surrogacy agreement and that a California court had already determined she had no right to legal or physical custody. The dispute quickly drew the attention of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who intervened after concerns were raised over whether the baby would receive the surgery doctors said could give him a meaningful chance of survival.
A Texas court ultimately ordered that the child receive medically indicated stabilizing and life-sustaining care after birth. The order left medical decisions with Gilkar and Ahmed within those requirements and kept the baby in Texas while the legal fight continued.
West has maintained that she could not go through with an abortion simply because the child she was carrying had been diagnosed with a disability.
“Every life matters. No woman should be forced to end the life of the baby she is carrying — including me … Baby Gabriel should receive a chance at life.”
Now he has one.
On Monday, the infant underwent a Norwood procedure, the first in a typical series of three surgeries used to treat hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The condition remains serious and children who survive the surgeries can face lifelong health complications.
West calls the child Gabriel. His biological parents call him Rumi.
Attorney Lee Budner, who represents Gilkar and Ahmed, said: “Rumi is now recuperating under the loving care of his parents and his heroic team of doctors, nurses, and medical staff.”
Budner added: “This is the last update on Rumi’s health that his family intends to share. His condition remains critical and complex, and his family seeks privacy in caring for their son on his long road to recovery.”
He also called West’s parentage claims “baseless” and “in violation of multiple court orders out of both Alaska and California.” The biological parents “look forward to quickly defeating those claims as Rumi’s parents continue to focus on his health and safety above all else,” Budner said.
Gilkar and Ahmed have denied that they ever intended to deny their son medical treatment after birth and have said they respected West’s ultimate decision not to terminate the pregnancy. Paxton nevertheless intervened before the delivery to ensure that Texas hospitals provided lifesaving care regardless of the surrogacy contract or the interstate custody dispute.
West, meanwhile, is continuing her effort to obtain custody of the child she carried — even as the couple who contracted with her to carry him seeks more than $100,000 because she refused to end his life before he was born.
