A California couple is suing their surrogate for breach of contract after she refused to abort a baby diagnosed with a heart defect and moved to Texas so the infant could receive life-saving care.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: A California couple is suing their surrogate, McKenna West, for allegedly violating a contract by refusing to kill their unborn baby after doctors diagnosed him with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed are seeking more than $100,000 in damages, arguing that West agreed to an abortion clause covering serious fetal abnormalities when they paid her $60,000 to carry the child. 📺 DETAIL: West, a 28-year-old nurse from Alaska, rejected the couple’s demand after the 20-week scan and moved to Texas, where she sought to protect the pregnancy and find medical care for the baby. She later secured court intervention in Dallas that ensured the child would receive medically necessary treatment, although she was barred from having contact with him following his birth. The baby, born August 12 and named Rumi by his biological parents, has since undergone a major surgery used to treat hypoplastic left heart syndrome, and remains in critical but stable condition, according to his parents’ attorney. West’s attorney said she is preparing her own legal action seeking to establish parental rights, arguing that Texas law recognizes the woman who gives birth as the child’s parent. 💬 KEY QUOTE: “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.” – Lincoln Wilson, McKenna West’s attorney 🎯 IMPACT: The lawsuit highlights the complex legal and ethical conflicts that can arise when parents who pay surrogates to carry their children insist on so-called abortion clauses and attempt to enforce them. The case could have broader implications for surrogacy contracts, parental rights, and how courts handle disputes involving surrogate parents. 📺 FLASHBACK: Hypoplastic left heart syndrome, the baby’s condition, has seen significant success rates with early surgical intervention, with some hospitals reporting 100 percent success for the initial procedure. This medical context played a key role in West’s decision to carry her pregnancy to term. |
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