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Texas Judge Gives Rumi Custody to Omar Ahmed, Nausheen Gilkar

8/21/2026

27 4 Full Breakdown

Summary

Judge Grants Custody

A Texas judge granted custody of Rumi to Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar.
Surrogate McKenna West is now seeking to establish parentage of Rumi.
Rumi, born in Dallas on August 12 with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, had Norwood procedure on August 17.
Ahmed and Gilkar paid $60,000, threatened $250,000 fines, and sued West for $100,000.
Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a brief demanding physicians provide care, prompting a hearing on August 25.

Summary

West Defies Order

Surrogate McKenna West scoffs at the biological parents’ anger over her calling the newborn “Gabriel.”
West says the nickname shields the child’s privacy while letting parents record their chosen name officially.
West claims the temporary restraining order unfairly blocks her from seeing the baby, calling it a “Trojan horse.”
She argues the order violates Texas law that presumes a surrogate who gives birth is the child’s legal mother.

History

Historical Context

The New Jersey Supreme Court’s 1988 ruling that voided a surrogacy contract established a precedent for weighing contractual rights against infant welfare. In the current Texas case before Dallas County, judges cite that precedent while research such as a 2013 study showing infants’ higher stress and heart-rate when not carried reinforces child-welfare priorities.

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Judge Grants Custody

A Texas judge granted custody of Rumi to Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar.
Surrogate McKenna West is now seeking to establish parentage of Rumi.
Rumi, born in Dallas on August 12 with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, had Norwood procedure on August 17.
Ahmed and Gilkar paid $60,000, threatened $250,000 fines, and sued West for $100,000.
Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a brief demanding physicians provide care, prompting a hearing on August 25.

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