{"id":48479,"date":"2026-08-16T10:21:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T05:21:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=48479"},"modified":"2026-08-16T10:21:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T05:21:41","slug":"expert-rips-surrogate-mckenna-wests-unfounded-custody-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=48479","title":{"rendered":"Expert Rips Surrogate McKenna West&#8217;s &#8216;Unfounded&#8217; Custody Fight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.theblast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/surrogacy-case-texas-california-mckenna-west-scaled.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/theblast.com\/764288\/meghan-trainor-fights-tears-birth-daughter-superwoman-surrogate\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"(opens in a new tab)\"><strong>surrogacy<\/strong><\/a> agreement for California couple Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar has escalated into a custody feud after their surrogate, McKenna West, refused an abortion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">West reportedly fled to Texas, where she gave birth to the baby in August, turning the case into a multistate legal battle involving courts in California and Texas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, with a custody war brewing, an expert has shared that she does not \u201csee a world\u201d where McKenna West \u201chas rights to the baby\u201d she gave birth to, stressing that she can not legally name him either.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<!-- TargetVideo video matching --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"iframe-container\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A surrogate mother defied the biological parents&#8217; order to abort a baby diagnosed with a severe heart defect.<\/p>\n<p>The woman, McKenna West, has now given birth to the baby, Gabriel.<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Kerri_Kupec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Kerri_Kupec<\/a> says baby Gabriel is in a Texas NICU, where doctors could soon perform potentially\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wFyGkXByRH\">pic.twitter.com\/wFyGkXByRH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Fox News (@FoxNews) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FoxNews\/status\/2087705083509145830?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 13, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Worldwide Surrogacy agency facilitated the surrogacy. West, 28, from Alaska, was matched with Ahmed and Gilkar.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to reports, the agreement initially proceeded without any major issues. However, the problem arose after the baby was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) at 20 weeks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">HLHS is a congenital heart defect (CHD) that interferes with normal blood flow through the heart. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says surgical repairs are not a cure, and that babies with the condition require major medical intervention and may have lifelong complications.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The intended parents wanted to terminate the pregnancy after the diagnosis, while West ultimately decided to carry on. The surrogacy agreement is said to have contained a provision concerning termination in case of a fetal anomaly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">West claimed the couple was pressuring her to undergo abortion. The couple has disputed her characterization of events, saying she initially agreed to terminate the pregnancy before changing her mind.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-nurse-relocated-to-texas-before-giving-birth\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Nurse Relocated To Texas Before Giving Birth<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the parties involved continued to disagree, the dispute spilled across state lines. West, who lives in Alaska where the agreement was signed, reportedly traveled to Texas, where she could be recognized as the birth mother.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Texas Attorney General became involved before the birth. According to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/surrogate-california-texas-heart-defect-birth-surgery-b19db01b62d0d06d28afc173fbc0570d\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"(opens in a new tab)\">The Associated Press<\/a><\/em>, the Attorney General intervened in support of West, and a judge subsequently gave the order to give the child the necessary medical care.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">West eventually gave birth on August 12, referring to the child as Gabriel. The biological parents, on the other hand, have named him Rumi.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-california-court-gave-the-biological-parents-custody-of-the-newborn\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>California Court Gave The Biological Parents Custody Of The Newborn<\/strong><\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">McKenna is a surrogate carrying a baby boy for a couple in California.<\/p>\n<p>They demanded she abort when they found out he would need surgery when he is born, but she refused.<\/p>\n<p>Now, she\u2019s speaking out on the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MegynKellyShow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MegynKellyShow<\/a> with <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/megynkelly?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MegynKelly<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LilaGraceRose?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@LilaGraceRose<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/58QKZW0IiD\">pic.twitter.com\/58QKZW0IiD<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Live Action (@LiveAction) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LiveAction\/status\/2085477561870799287?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 6, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After birth, the dispute shifted toward custody and parental rights. According to the <em>New York Post, <\/em>a California court had already ruled in favor of Gilkar and Ahmed, making them the baby\u2019s legal parents; the newborn was transferred to their care.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The surrogate challenged the decision because Texas law recognizes anyone who gives birth in the state as the legal mother.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to a report by <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/08\/12\/texas-surrogacy-california-alaska-parental-rights\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"(opens in a new tab)\">The Texas Tribune<\/a><\/em>, West\u2019s attorney stated that the nurse is \u201clawfully the parent because she gave birth to this child that she carries in Texas, then she should control custody as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The parents\u2019 lawyers, on the other hand, continue to argue that West is not the child\u2019s biological parent and that the surrogacy agreement established their parental rights.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-expert-weighs-in-on-the-controversial-surrogacy-case-she-has-no-legal-right-to-name-the-baby\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Expert Weighs In On The Controversial Surrogacy Case: \u2018She Has No Legal Right To Name The Baby\u2019<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the question of custody, Marla Neufeld, an attorney and reproductive lawyer based in Florida and the host of \u201cThe Surrogacy Space\u201d podcast, said to the <em><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/14\/us-news\/inside-surrogate-mckenna-wests-quest-to-keep-baby-despite-biological-parents-wishes\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"(opens in a new tab)\">New York Post<\/a><\/em>, \u201cI don\u2019t see any reason why these biological parents wouldn\u2019t still be the legal parents of this child.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She further explained that most surrogacy agreements include a \u201cparentage order\u201d that legally establishes the baby\u2019s biological parents, regardless of where the surrogate gives birth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t see a world where [West] has rights to the baby,\u201d the expert continued. \u201cShe is not the biological parent \u2026 and under the states that are at play \u2014 between Alaska, California and Texas \u2013 I\u2019m not aware of anything in their surrogacy provisions that would give her access to the child.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Branding the case an \u201canomaly,\u201d Neufeld noted that West is \u201ctaking a position that is just so unfounded.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She added, \u201cI don\u2019t know if she bonded with the child in a way that created this type of issue, but she has no legal right to name the baby.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-biological-parents-attorney-says-they-are-devastated-by-the\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Biological Parents\u2019 Attorney <\/strong>Says They Are \u2018Devastated\u2019 By The <\/h2>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">What do you think about surrogate mom McKenna West fighting to save baby Gabriel from abortion? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2G90FdKvvr\">pic.twitter.com\/2G90FdKvvr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 LifeNews.com (@LifeNewsHQ) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LifeNewsHQ\/status\/2087210525184991383?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 11, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lawyers on both sides of the case have publicly spoken in defense of their client. Most recently, Lee Budner, legal counsel for the biological parents, revealed that they were left \u201cdevastated\u201d by the political attention surrounding the child\u2019s birth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/celebrity\/articles\/read-mckenna-wests-surrogacy-agreement-200025188.html\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"(opens in a new tab)\">TMZ<\/a><\/em>, Budner said, \u201cAs if the heartbreak of his condition were not enough, they are devastated to see their family tragedy transformed into political theater by the Texas Attorney General\u2019s office and McKenna West.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He stressed that the couple\u2019s focus is entirely on ensuring the baby receives the medical care he needs and spending a lot of time with him.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A surrogacy agreement for California couple Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar has escalated into a custody feud after their surrogate, McKenna West, refused an abortion. West reportedly fled to Texas, where she gave birth to the baby in August, turning the case into a multistate legal battle involving courts in California and Texas. Now, with&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media.theblast.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/surrogacy-case-texas-california-mckenna-west-1200x675.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}