A California couple who’d recruited a surrogate to give birth to their son has filed suit against the surrogate over her “outrageous conduct.”
As previously reported, California couple Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar paid McKenna West to give birth to their newborn.
But when Ahmed and Gilkar discovered a couple of months ago that their then-unborn baby had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, they asked West to get an abortion. She refused and instead traveled to Texas, a red state, to give birth to the boy last Wednesday, Aug. 12.
West then named the boy Gabriel instead of what Gilkar and Ahmed wanted, which was Rumi, according to TMZ.
A surrogate mother defied the biological parents’ order to abort a baby diagnosed with a severe heart defect.
The woman, McKenna West, has now given birth to the baby, Gabriel.@Kerri_Kupec says baby Gabriel is in a Texas NICU, where doctors could soon perform potentially… pic.twitter.com/wFyGkXByRH
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 13, 2026
The California couple has since sued West.
“In the suit, Nausheen and Omar are asking a judge to award them more than $100K in damages from McKenna for breaching the deal … plus unspecified damages for the ‘malicious, outrageous conduct’ they believe she committed,” TMZ reported.
In the suit, they reportedly also admit to having paid McKenna a whopping $60,000 for her surrogacy. More importantly, the couple notes in the suit that their surrogacy contract included an abortion clause which should have allowed them to terminate West’s pregnancy.
The suit further alleges that the California couple has suffered emotional distress because of West’s actions.
West, in the meantime, is preparing her own legal battle in an attempt to gain custody of the newborn.
“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,” her attorney, Lincoln Wilson, told the New York Post.
Wilson also alleged that the California couple “haven’t given [West] anything” since she declined to abort the newborn.
As for West’s desire to gain custody, her chances remain low because she has virtually no legal claim on the child, according to Florida attorney Marla Neufeld.
“I don’t see any reason why these biological parents wouldn’t still be the legal parents of this child,” Neufeld told the Post. “I don’t see a world where [West] has rights to the baby. She is not the biological parent … and under the states that are at play — between Alaska, California and Texas – I’m not aware of anything in their surrogacy provisions that would give her access to the child.”
“I think [West] is taking a position that is just so unfounded. I don’t know if she bonded with the child in a way that created this type of issue, but she has no legal right to name the baby,” she added.
Indeed, the Post notes that less than 24 hours after the newborn was born, he was automatically placed in the custody of his biological parents.
Meanwhile, both Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and even the Trump administration have also been involved in this case.
Before the newborn was born, Paxton secured a court order requiring that he receive life-saving medical care after birth:
I secured an emergency court order ensuring that baby Gabriel receives life-saving care in Texas. pic.twitter.com/Yv84BFoFi7
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) August 12, 2026
“The court has made the right decision in immediately acting to protect baby Gabriel’s life and ensure he receives the care he deserves,” Paxton said in a statement. “My office utilized every tool at our disposal to protect life, and we will not back down in continuing to support baby Gabriel’s well-being.”
The Trump administration quickly followed suit.
“The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights [said] it is sending a letter to Children’s Medical Center of Dallas and UT Southwestern Medical Center outlining their obligations under federal disability civil rights laws as doctors make treatment decisions involving baby Gabriel,” according to Fox News.
The California couple didn’t appreciate this intervention.
“Our clients’ son was born yesterday morning and he is now in their physical custody while he receives expert medical care at a tertiary care center,” their attorneys said in a statement. “Thankfully, McKenna West’s baseless attempt to interfere with his medical care has been soundly rejected by the courts. Right now, our clients are continuing to place their baby’s health and well-being first, following the advice of the baby’s medical team, as they always have and just as any loving parent would.”
“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. Our clients’ only focus at this time is ensuring that their baby receives the medical care that he vitally needs and that they, as his parents, are able to spend every precious moment they can with their beautiful newborn son,” they added.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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