McKenna West is facing a legal battle with the biological parents after refusing to terminate the pregnancy.
A 28-year-old surrogate mother in the United States is facing a lawsuit from the biological parents of a baby after she refused their request to terminate the pregnancy following the discovery of a serious heart defect.
According to TMZ, Nasheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed filed a countersuit against McKenna West weeks before she gave birth in Texas.
The couple had agreed to pay West $60,000 to carry their baby, with an abortion clause in their agreement allowing termination if foetal abnormalities were detected.
At about 20 weeks, doctors diagnosed the baby with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare and potentially life-threatening heart defect.
The intended parents subsequently asked West to terminate the pregnancy, but she refused.
West travelled to Texas and gave birth to the baby on August 12. She named the child Gabriel, while the biological parents insist he should be called Rumi.
Gilkar and Ahmed are seeking more than $100,000 in damages, accusing West of breaching their agreement and engaging in what they describe as “malicious, outrageous conduct.”
West has denied the allegations through her lawyer, Lincoln Wilson, who said the intended parents stopped providing support after she refused to terminate the pregnancy.
The dispute has now shifted to custody and parentage, with West seeking legal recognition as the child’s parent.
Wilson told The Post that West believes she has a claim because she gave birth in Texas. However, reproductive law attorney Marla Neufeld said West may have little legal claim to the child under Texas law.
West, who had previously been pregnant twice, said she believed the baby should be allowed to live despite the diagnosis
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