A California couple and the surrogate who refused their request to abort her pregnancy after the baby was diagnosed with a severe heart defect faced each other in a Texas court over custody on Tuesday.
The California couple, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, demanded that the surrogate mother undergo an abortion.
The surrogate, McKenna West, refused and traveled to Dallas for state protection of the unborn child and to be close to medical professionals knowledgeable about the baby’s condition.
After West gave birth on Aug. 12, the couple obtained a restraining order barring her from seeing or holding the child. West is challenging a California judgment that gave parentage to the couple.
At a court hearing in Dallas on Aug. 25, both parties met. The genetic parents, Gilkar and Ahmed, are suing for custody.
Attorneys for West, who has called the child Gabriel, said she is seeking sole conservatorship to make medical decisions for the child.
West told the court that she was 23 weeks pregnant when the couple made an appointment for an abortion. But she said she was not comfortable with it.
“I knew that this baby, despite the diagnosis, had a great chance at survival and a great chance at leading a long life,” West said.
McKenna West (L) arrives with her legal team for a court hearing in Dallas on Aug. 25, 2026. LM Otero/AP
Gilkar and Ahmed said they named the newborn Rumi.
“He’s our child,” Gilkar said.
“She’s trying to take him from us,” said Gilkar, talking about West, who she also claimed was “unstable.”
West stayed in the couple’s home in Los Angeles, Gilkar said, and Glikar was there with West for the IVF transfer.
The couple’s attorney referenced court records from California that determined West has no rights to legal or physical custody.
The child was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a life-threatening but treatable heart defect, at roughly 20 weeks in utero. The genetic parents said that the baby is in a critical condition following his surgery.
Gilkar told the court that the baby had no blood flow to the left side of his heart. Since surgery, she said, he has gasped for air, choked on tubes, and needed a blood transfusion.
“He’s the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen,” Gilkar said. “He’s the love of our lives. He’s suffering a lot.”
On the stand, West told their attorney, Lee Budner, that if the court finds that the couple is committed to the baby receiving the surgeries, she would drop any custody claims.
Jeff Domen, an attorney for West, repeatedly pressed Gilkar on the couple’s desire to terminate the pregnancy, asking her to confirm that she requested it.
Asked whether she regretted the decision, Gilkar responded that she did not.
“Would you trust somebody to care for your child that wanted your child dead?” Domen asked.
Gilkar said she did not know how to respond to the question.
“We believe Ms. West is the mother of this child,” Domen said.
The judge did not rule on final custody or conservatorship on Aug. 25, and the restraining order was left in effect.
Surrogacy in the United States is entirely unregulated at the federal level.
Texas treats the woman who gives birth as the legal mother by default under Family Code 160.201(a) unless there is a properly validated gestational agreement under Texas procedures.
Earlier this month, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stepped in to protect the unborn surrogate baby.
“Baby Gabriel deserves a chance at life, and I will not allow anyone to unlawfully deny him medically necessary care,” Paxton said in an Aug. 11 statement.
In an Aug. 10 letter to UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, Paxton’s office notified the hospitals and staff expected to care for the child of their legal duty to provide life-saving care upon birth without a court order and regardless of disputed parenthood.
Paxton’s notice to the hospitals and their medical staff said that physicians may provide baby Gabriel with emergency life-sustaining treatment without parental consent or a court order, and he urged them to prevent any unlawful transfer out of state.
The Epoch Times has contacted West’s attorney as well as Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed’s lawyer for comment.
The Associated Press and Darlene McCormick Sanchez contributed to this report.
