McKenna West / Facebook

A Surrogate Says the Couple’s Own Lawyer, Hired to Represent Her, Told Her She’d Owe $250,000 If She Didn’t Get the Abortion

Updated 4 days ago, August 15, 2026

McKenna West gave birth in Texas on August 12 to the baby boy she’d carried for a California couple, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, who wanted the pregnancy terminated after doctors diagnosed the fetus with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a serious congenital heart defect, around 20 weeks.

Woman smiling in a car selfie, wearing purple cat-eye glasses and gold hoop earrings, with greenery visible through the window. — McKenna West takes a car selfie wearing purple cat-eye glasses and gold hoop earrings. Credit: McKenna West / Facebook.

In a lawsuit against Worldwide Surrogacy, West says the parents tried to invoke an abortion-upon-demand clause in the agreement and warned of “severe financial repercussions” if she refused. She’d scheduled an abortion in May but couldn’t go through with it, later writing in emotional letters that she had “a baby boy with a heartbeat, capable of feeling pain, kicking inside.”

Woman smiling in an indoor selfie, wearing purple glasses and a blue denim patterned head wrap, with a dark gray shirt. — West poses for a close-up selfie indoors, sporting the same purple frames alongside a patterned denim head wrap and a dark top. Credit: McKenna West / Facebook.

Nausheen and Omar counter that West had already collected substantial money under the contract, including payments for medical fees, travel, and living expenses up to $60,000. They also dispute the name Gabriel.

Woman with long wavy dark hair smiling over her shoulder indoors, wearing a sleeveless olive and cream abstract-print top. — A smiling West looks over her shoulder in a bright room, dressed in a sleeveless olive-and-cream printed top with wavy dark hair. Credit: McKenna West / Facebook.

A Texas judge granted a temporary restraining order handing the couple decision-making authority over the child. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has backed West and moved to make sure two Texas hospitals would provide care, and her lawyer says she’ll take the case to the Supreme Court if needed.

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