# Intended parents take custody after surrogate continues pregnancy

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/intended-parents-take-custody-after-surrogate-continues-pregnancy/
- Published: 2026-08-14T09:32:15+00:00
- Updated: 2026-08-23T21:02:53+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16051005/surrogate-baby-texas-biological-parents-abortion-scandal.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Americas, Art, Culture, World

## Key points

- The intended parents have physical custody of the newborn.
- The surrogate alleges pressure to terminate the pregnancy; the parents dispute key allegations.
- A Texas court required life-sustaining care while the legal dispute continues.

## Summary

A newborn boy with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a life-threatening congenital condition, was born in Dallas after an interstate surrogacy dispute involving McKenna West, the Alaska-based surrogate, and the intended parents, California couple Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed. West’s lawyers say the couple pressed her to terminate the pregnancy after the diagnosis at 20 weeks; the parents say that they made a difficult decision after medical consultation and deny intending to deny the child needed treatment. West travelled to Texas before the birth, where abortion is heavily restricted, and sought authority to secure treatment for the baby.

Texas attorney general Ken Paxton intervened shortly before the birth, and a Dallas court ordered that the infant receive necessary life-sustaining care and remain in Texas pending further proceedings. However, the intended parents obtained physical custody and a restraining order preventing West from seeing or making decisions for the baby. Their lawyer said they were following the medical team’s advice and prioritising their son’s wellbeing, while West’s legal team maintained that Texas law gives a woman who gives birth there a basis to challenge parentage. The case has highlighted conflicts between surrogacy agreements, differing state parentage rules and decisions about intensive treatment for seriously ill newborns.

## Coverage

- [Daily Mail: Intended parents take custody after surrogate continues pregnancy](https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16051005/surrogate-baby-texas-biological-parents-abortion-scandal.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490)
- [Fox News: Surrogate gives birth in Texas to baby with heart defect after parents requested abortion](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/surrogate-gives-birth-texas-baby-heart-defect-parents-requested-abortion)
- [Associated Press: What to know about a surrogacy dispute between a California couple, their surrogate and Texas courts](https://apnews.com/article/surrogate-baby-mckenna-west-texas-207b58c36b8f53dd0ab23e0dc2afaa3a)
- [ABC News: Baby with a serious heart defect was born amid a legal battle between the surrogate and parents. What to know](https://abcnews.com/amp/US/baby-heart-defect-born-amid-legal-battle-surrogate/story?id=135610247)
- [The Guardian: Baby with heart defect at center of US surrogacy dispute handed to parents](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/14/surrogate-baby-texas-parents)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.