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A Texas couple has filed a countersuit seeking more than $100,000 from their surrogate after she refused their request to terminate a pregnancy following a severe fetal heart diagnosis. The biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, allege that McKenna West breached their surrogacy agreement and caused them emotional distress by declining to proceed with the abortion. According to TMZ, the couple paid West $60,000 during the pregnancy under a contract that included provisions for termination.
West carried the baby after he was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a serious congenital condition, around 20 weeks of gestation. Gilkar and Ahmed requested that West terminate the pregnancy following the diagnosis, but she refused and subsequently traveled to Texas to give birth on August 12. The biological parents’ attorneys have disputed claims that they threatened or pressured West, asserting instead that she initially agreed to terminate before changing her mind.
West denies any wrongdoing and has asked the court to dismiss the counterclaims filed against her. The surrogate continues to assert parental rights to the child and has scheduled a hearing in Dallas County for August 25. The biological parents have prevailed in key custody proceedings in Alaska and California, though the dispute has drawn intervention from multiple state officials.
The infant underwent a Norwood procedure, the first of typically three surgeries required for HLHS management, on August 18. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured an emergency court order before the birth to ensure the child received necessary medical care. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights subsequently notified the Dallas hospitals involved of their obligations under federal disability law.
Live Action founder Lila Rose condemned the lawsuit as retaliation against West, stating that the surrogate acted heroically to save the child’s life. The biological parents’ attorney has indicated they are now focused on their son’s medical recovery while challenging West’s ongoing custody claims as baseless and in violation of existing court orders.
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