Nausheen Gilkar broke down on the stand Tuesday as she accused surrogate McKenna West of trying to steal her baby.
Gilkar, the biological mother, was testifying at a Dallas hearing on whether a temporary restraining order against West, 28, would remain in force. The Alaska nurse has been barred from seeing or making medical decisions for the baby boy the genetic parents call “Rumi.” Gilkar and her husband, Omar Ahmed, live in Los Angeles and have been locked in a three-state legal fight since the child’s birth on Aug. 12.
“She’s making us run from doctor to doctor, state to state. With our baby — she’s trying to take him,” Gilkar told the courtroom through tears.
West gave birth after fleeing to Texas during the pregnancy. A 20-week scan had revealed the baby had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare congenital condition in which the heart does not develop correctly. Gilkar and Ahmed, after consulting doctors, wanted to end the pregnancy. West refused to abort and left for Texas, where abortion is illegal.
West, who calls the baby “Gabriel,” later outlined her position in a recent opinion piece for The Post. She wrote that she had agreed to surrender any claim to the child if the couple would commit to surgery and ongoing treatment. She wants the baby to remain in Texas, where she argues she is the presumed mother under state law and can direct medical decisions.
“I’m not fighting to try to take someone else’s baby. I’m fighting because this baby boy needs someone willing to advocate for and fight alongside him as he gets the ongoing treatment his fragile heart requires,” she wrote.
“I have asked for only one thing from the very beginning: A commitment that this baby will be provided the life-saving treatment he needs. That is all it would take to end this.”
Gilkar countered on the stand that she and Ahmed had already arranged medical care in California. She accused West of withholding the baby’s medical records in Alaska, leaving them in the dark for weeks. “We didn’t even know if he was still alive for two months,” she testified.
The couple is also suing West for more than $100,000 for keeping the baby rather than terminating the pregnancy as they requested. Their surrogacy contract had included a $60,000 payment to West and an abortion clause permitting termination if fetal issues arose.
In the viral moment that sparked national attention, West refused the abortion demand and fled from Alaska to Texas to carry the pregnancy to term. A medical team in Texas stabilized the newborn in the days after birth, and he has remained in intensive care at a Dallas hospital while the legal battle dragged on across Alaska, Texas and California. The case has become a flashpoint in debates over surrogacy contracts, abortion access and maternal rights across state lines.
The baby’s condition deteriorated sharply just before the hearing. Gilkar and Ahmed filed an emergency request to postpone the court appearance, stating that over the previous 24 hours, “Serious medical developments have arisen that impact the health and safety of the child.” Their filing added: “The child is in critical condition and being closely monitored at the hospital.”
The hearing went forward despite the medical emergency, with Gilkar’s emotional testimony putting the couple’s anguish on display. The restraining order remains a key weapon in their effort to shut West out of decision-making as they push to move the baby’s care to California.
The dispute shows no sign of ending soon, with lawsuits pending and the infant’s health hanging in the balance.