A surrogate who declined to terminate a pregnancy after the baby was diagnosed with a heart defect is now pushing back against the biological parents’ objections over what she calls the infant, as they pursue a breach-of-contract lawsuit against her.
McKenna West, a 28-year-old nurse from Alaska, had agreed to carry a child for California couple Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed before the surrogacy arrangement spiraled into a bitter legal dispute.
The newest point of contention is the baby’s name, TMZ reported. West has been calling the newborn Gabriel, while Gilkar and Ahmed have identified the baby boy as Rumi in court documents.
According to the outlet, the couple argues that West’s use of a different name violates the terms of their surrogacy agreement.
West has countered that the contract only gave the biological parents the right to “name any child born” under the agreement and required her to have that chosen name “placed on such child’s birth certificate.”
She maintains that Gabriel was simply a nickname and says she has not stopped the couple from listing Rumi on the baby’s birth certificate.
West has also said the nickname helps protect the child’s privacy, and claimed a California judge instructed both sides not to refer to the infant as either Gabriel or Rumi because the names could be “triggering to both sides.”
The naming dispute is one piece of a wider legal battle, with Gilkar and Ahmed seeking more than $100,000 in damages related to the newborn.
McKenna West, the Alaska surrogate mom who refused to abort a child despite his California biological parents’ wishes, pushed back on their claims that she cannot call him Gabriel
The couple has claimed that West is violating their surrogacy agreement, but the Alaska nurse has argued that she only gave the newborn a nickname
West agreed to a surrogacy deal with Ahmed and Gilkar last August through a corporation called Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists LLC.
The surrogate mom’s attorneys claimed Ahmed and Gilkar pressured West for weeks and insisted that she get an abortion after the child was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
The condition causes one side of the heart to be underdeveloped and prevents normal blood flow. It can cause breathing problems, skin rashes, weak pulse and bluish skin.
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is treatable through a series of surgeries shortly after birth, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the US, only about 925 babies born have the heart defect per year. The children can die within days or weeks if it goes untreated.
The couple claimed West had agreed to terminating the pregnancy following the diagnosis, according to court documents in Alaska reported by the Associated Press.
However, Ahmed and Gilkar alleged that West had then changed her mind and stopped communicating with them.
West argued that she did not prevent the biological parents from placing their desired name on the baby’s birth certificate
A legal filing from the couple claimed that it was ‘undisputed that West initially agreed and that she herself made the initial appointment,’ per the AP.
Ahmed and Gilkar had also chosen to have West give birth in California so that their child could begin their heart treatment in the west coast state, the court filings claimed.
The parents claimed that West was ‘harming Rumi by relocating to Texas, requiring him to be born in Texas, away from his parents and the specialized cardiac team in Los Angeles that will provide his lifelong care,’ the AP reported.
The contract that West signed with the couple included a clause that required her to abort the baby in the event of an ‘anomaly.’
Despite the parents allegedly pressuring her to abort, West discovered a hospital in Texas that had a 100 percent success rate in recent years with the first of three surgeries the baby would require.
West was then put in touch with Lila Rose, the founder and president of anti-abortion group Live Action, who assured her that she would help her get to Texas.
Days before West gave birth, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said his office was intervening in the case to ‘protect baby Gabriel’s life’ by notifying UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Medical Center of Dallas of legal obligations to provide life-saving care.
Paxton accused Gilkar and Ahmed of refusing to consent to life-saving surgery for the baby’s heart defect.
![West said Tuesday that it was 'great to hear that [the baby] received the first of the three necessary surgeries yesterday'](https://i.dailymail.com/1s/2026/08/20/09/110730589-16065659-West_said_Tuesday_that_it_was_great_to_hear_that_the_baby_receiv-a-71_1787212805239.jpg)
West said Tuesday that it was ‘great to hear that [the baby] received the first of the three necessary surgeries yesterday’
A legal filing from the couple claimed that it was ‘undisputed that West initially agreed and that she herself made the initial appointment,’ per the AP.
Ahmed and Gilkar had also chosen to have West give birth in California so that their child could begin their heart treatment in the west coast state, the court filings claimed.
The parents claimed that West was ‘harming Rumi by relocating to Texas, requiring him to be born in Texas, away from his parents and the specialized cardiac team in Los Angeles that will provide his lifelong care,’ the AP reported.
West’s actions were allegedly ‘forcing’ the newborn to get ‘critical heart surgery’ and other treatment ‘in one state and be transferred to another.’
Despite the parents allegedly pressuring her to abort, West discovered a hospital in Texas that had a 100 percent success rate in recent years with the first of three surgeries the baby would require.
West was then put in touch with Lila Rose, the founder and president of anti-abortion group Live Action, who assured her that she would help her get to Texas for treatment.
Days before West gave birth, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said his office was intervening in the case to ‘protect baby Gabriel’s life.’
An associate judge then issued a temporary restraining order preventing anyone from withholding or obstructing the newborn’s necessary treatment.
However, the decision also forbade West from having any contact with the baby after his birth.
The child has since undergone a major heart surgery known as the Norwood procedure, according to Lee Budner, the couple’s attorney.
Budner said the newborn was ‘now recuperating under the loving care of his parents and his heroic team of doctors, nurses and medical staff.’
‘This is the last update on Rumi’s health that his family intends to share,’ he added. ‘His condition remains critical and complex, and his family seeks privacy in caring for their son on his long road to recovery.’
Meanwhile, West said that her ‘focus has always been on protecting this precious baby’s life.’
‘It was great to hear that he received the first of the three necessary surgeries yesterday,’ West said Tuesday.
‘What matters most now is making sure he gets the life-saving care he will need in the coming months, care that the other side is currently fighting in court for their ability to withhold,’ she continued. ‘My focus therefore remains on protecting his life.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Ahmed and Gilkar’s attorney, Budner, and West’s attorney, Lincoln Davis Wilson, for comment.
