Biological parents sue surrogate in Texas over refusal to abort fetus with heart defect
Nasheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed have filed a lawsuit seeking more than $100,000 in damages from surrogate McKenna West, alleging she breached a contract that included an abortion clause after the fetus was diagnosed with a serious heart condition.
Nasheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed have filed a countersuit against McKenna West, a 28-year-old nurse from Alaska, alleging she violated a surrogacy agreement that allowed the parents to terminate the pregnancy if fetal abnormalities were discovered. The couple paid West $60,000 to carry their child, and at about 20 weeks the fetus was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a life-threatening congenital heart defect. West declined the parents’ request for an abortion and traveled to Texas, where state law treats the birth mother as the legal parent. The baby was delivered on Aug. 12 and named Gabriel by West, though the intended parents refer to him as Rumi.
Gilkar and Ahmed are seeking over $100,000 in damages for the alleged breach of contract and unspecified losses they describe as resulting from West’s “malicious, outrageous conduct.” West’s attorney, Lincoln Wilson, said the surrogate intends to pursue full legal parentage, citing Texas law that assigns parentage to the woman who gives birth. Reproductive-law specialist Marla Neufeld has previously noted that a surrogate generally has no legal claim to the child.
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome requires multiple surgeries and lifelong medical care. West said in a statement that “every life matters” and that no woman should be forced to end a pregnancy, expressing her belief that the baby should be given a chance to live.