Parents sue surrogate mother for $100,000 after she refuses abortion request

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A 28-year-old surrogate mother in the United States is facing a lawsuit from the biological parents of a baby she carried after she refused their request to terminate the pregnancy following the discovery of a serious heart defect.

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According to a report by TMZ on Thursday, Nasheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed filed a countersuit against McKenna West weeks before she gave birth to their baby in Texas.

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Gilkar and Ahmed had agreed to pay West $60,000 to serve as a surrogate, with an abortion clause in their agreement allowing them to terminate the pregnancy if problems with the foetus were discovered, according to the lawsuit.

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However, at about 20 weeks into the pregnancy, the baby was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare and life-threatening congenital heart defect.

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The intended parents subsequently requested that West terminate the pregnancy, but she refused.

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West instead travelled to Texas, where she gave birth to the baby on August 12.

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She named the child Gabriel, while the biological parents insist that his name is Rumi.

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Gilkar and Ahmed are seeking more than $100,000 in damages, alleging that West breached their agreement. They are also seeking unspecified damages over what they described as her “malicious, outrageous conduct.”

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The intended parents, however, denied ever threatening to force West to undergo an abortion.

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West’s lawyer, Lincoln Wilson, said Gilkar and Ahmed had not provided her with anything since she refused to terminate the pregnancy.

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The surrogate is now preparing for a legal battle over custody and parentage of the child.

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“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 told The Post.

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However, reproductive law attorney Marla Neufeld previously told The Post that West has virtually no legal claim to the child.

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West, who had two previous pregnancies, said she believed the baby should be allowed to live despite the diagnosis.

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“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,” she said.

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Hypoplastic left heart syndrome is a congenital heart defect that requires multiple surgeries and can leave survivors facing lifelong medical care and potentially serious health complications.

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