Full Breakdown
Texas Court Hears Custody Battle Over Newborn with Critical Heart Defect
8/27/2026, 12:52:38 AM
The Custody Dispute Unfolds in Dallas
A Dallas courtroom heard arguments on Tuesday from Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, the biological parents of a newborn boy diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), and from McKenna West, the surrogate who carried the child. The parents contend that West violated a surrogacy contract that allowed them to request an abortion after the fetal diagnosis. West argues she is the child’s mother and seeks sole conservatorship to make medical decisions. The judge left the temporary restraining order barring West from seeing the infant in place and did not issue a final custody ruling.
Background: Surrogacy Contract and Abortion Request
Gilkar and Ahmed entered a surrogacy agreement with West through Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists, LLC in August 2025. The contract included a clause permitting the intended parents to request termination of the pregnancy if a severe fetal abnormality was discovered. After multiple IVF cycles, Gilkar said the surrogacy was their primary means of having a child. At about 20 weeks gestation, ultrasound revealed HLHS. The parents asked West to abort; West scheduled an abortion at 23 weeks but later refused, traveling from Alaska to Texas to give birth.
Medical Condition of the Infant
The baby, named Rumi by the parents and Gabriel by West, was born on August 12 in Texas and required immediate resuscitation. He has HLHS, a congenital defect in which one side of the heart is underdeveloped, preventing normal blood flow. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report fewer than 1,000 newborns are affected by HLHS each year in the United States. Treatment typically involves three staged open-heart surgeries; the first, the Norwood procedure, was performed shortly after birth. Court documents describe the infant’s condition as “critical and complex,” noting complications after the surgery, including re-intubation and blood transfusions.
Legal Landscape: State Laws and Court Actions
Surrogacy is not regulated at the federal level, and each state’s statutes can create interpretive gaps. Texas law criminalizes most abortions and imposes severe penalties on providers. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured an emergency order before the birth directing hospitals to provide life-saving care without delay. A California court previously ruled that Gilkar and Ahmed hold legal and physical custody, a decision West’s attorneys asked the Texas judge to disregard. The couple obtained a temporary restraining order preventing West from contacting the child; the order remains in effect.
Official Statements & Responses
Jeff Domen, representing West, asserted that “we believe Ms. West is the mother of this child.” West’s counsel emphasized her willingness to relinquish custody if the parents commit to the infant’s required surgeries. The parents’ attorney highlighted the California court’s determination of parental rights and questioned West’s claim to motherhood based solely on birth. The Texas AG’s emergency order was cited as ensuring the infant receives necessary medical treatment despite the state’s abortion restrictions.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Sources differ on the current legal status of custody. California filings declare Gilkar and Ahmed as the sole legal parents, while the Texas proceeding has not yet ruled on final custody or conservatorship. Timing of the infant’s post-surgical complications is described variably: some filings note a decline “overnight” after the Norwood procedure, while others reference a “significant” deterioration a day before the hearing. The judge’s schedule for a definitive custody decision remains unspecified.
