Surrogate Mother Sued After Refusing To Abort Baby With Heart Defect

A 28-year-old American surrogate, McKenna West, is facing a lawsuit from the biological parents of the baby she carried after she refused to terminate the pregnancy following the discovery of a serious heart condition.

According to TMZ, Nasheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed filed a countersuit against West weeks before she delivered the baby in Texas.

The couple had agreed to pay West $60,000 to carry the pregnancy, with the surrogacy agreement reportedly containing an abortion clause that allowed them to request a termination if a foetal abnormality was detected.

But when the baby was diagnosed at about 20 weeks with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare and potentially fatal congenital heart defect, West declined the couple’s request for an abortion.

She later travelled to Texas and gave birth on August 12.

Following the delivery, West named the baby Gabriel, while Gilkar and Ahmed said they wanted the child to be named Rumi.

The intended parents are seeking more than $100,000 in damages, claiming that West violated the terms of their agreement. They are also demanding unspecified damages over what they described as her “malicious, outrageous conduct.”

The couple has denied threatening to force West to undergo an abortion.

West’s lawyer, Lincoln Wilson, said the intended parents had not provided his client with anything since she rejected their request to terminate the pregnancy.

The dispute has now extended to the issue of custody and parentage, with West seeking legal recognition 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,” Wilson told The Post.

However, reproductive law attorney Marla Neufeld previously told The Post that West has virtually no legal claim to the child.

West, who had previously been pregnant twice, said she chose to continue the pregnancy because she believed the baby deserved an opportunity to live.

“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,” she said.

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome affects the left side of the heart and requires multiple surgeries. Children who survive treatment may require lifelong medical care and can experience serious health complications.

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