Parents Who Sought Abortion Now Have Custody of Baby Gabriel After Surrogate Fled to Texas

Adriana Stone 0 2 min read

Parents Who Sought Abortion Now Have Custody of Baby Gabriel After Surrogate Fled to Texas

The legal fight over Baby Gabriel took another major turn this week. The California couple who repeatedly sought an abortion now has physical custody of the newborn, just hours after his birth in Texas.

The surrogate who refused those demands is still fighting for parental rights.

McKenna West, a 28-year-old Alaska nurse and mother of two, rejected the biological parents’ request to end the pregnancy after doctors diagnosed the baby with hypoplastic left heart syndrome at 20 weeks. The serious congenital defect requires multiple surgeries, but the condition is treatable.

West then left Alaska and went to Texas for legal protection and specialized medical care. She gave birth to the boy Wednesday at a Dallas hospital and named him Gabriel. The biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, refer to the child as Rumi.

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West has explained why she refused to end the pregnancy.

“Every life matters. No woman should be forced to end the life of the baby she is carrying — including me… Baby Gabriel should receive a chance at life,” West told The New York Post.

She also said she could not live with herself if she ended the pregnancy. West has argued that Gabriel “deserves to be surrounded by people who are 100% willing to fight alongside him.”

For now, Gilkar and Ahmed have custody while the baby receives medical treatment, according to their attorneys.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton previously secured an emergency court order requiring life-sustaining care for the infant. The order also blocks any effort to remove Gabriel from Texas before an August 25 hearing.

A separate temporary restraining order prevents West from claiming to be the child’s parent or making medical decisions on his behalf.

West’s attorney, Lincoln Wilson, says Texas law recognizes the woman who gives birth as the legal mother. He has vowed to challenge the California court orders as invalid under Texas law and said the case could reach the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.

“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,” Wilson stated.

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The biological parents’ lawyers have described the case as a family tragedy that has been turned into “political theater.” Their stated focus, they say, is the baby’s medical care.

“As 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’s office and McKenna West,” their lawyer, Lee Budner, told TMZ.

NBC News also covered the dispute, presenting the biological parents as victims of the situation. That framing has added another layer to an already bitter custody fight involving a child whose surrogate refused to follow through with an abortion request.

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The courts appear to be siding with the biological parents for now. But West’s decision to carry Gabriel to term, leave for Texas, and fight for his care has made her the central figure in the case. The next major test will come at the August 25 hearing, as both sides battle over custody, parentage, and who has the right to make decisions for Baby Gabriel.

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