Baby Gabriel in Criticial Condition Days After Heart Surgery

A newborn whose surrogate mother refused to abort him after doctors diagnosed a life-threatening heart defect is in critical condition days after undergoing complex open-heart surgery.

That’s according to new court documents filed by the biological “parents.”

Court documents state that in the last 24 hours, “Serious medical developments have arisen that impact the health and safety of the child. The child is in critical condition and being closely monitored at the hospital.”

The parents claim the child appears to be “suffering from potential complications from the Norwood, and last night, the child’s condition declined significantly, requiring re-intubation.”

Gilkar and Ahmed, who obtained a temporary restraining order awarding them custody until a future hearing, are asking the court to postpone that hearing.

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McKenna West, a 28-year-old cardiac nurse from Alaska, agreed to serve as a surrogate for California couple Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed. In April, when she was 20 weeks pregnant, a routine ultrasound showed the baby had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a congenital condition in which the left side of the heart is underdeveloped.

The couple ordered her to kill Gabriel in an abortion. West refused.

“No woman should be forced to kill the baby inside her. Most importantly, every child deserves a chance to live,” West wrote.

As a cardiac nurse, she knew the child “had a great shot at survival if given the opportunity to receive the necessary treatment.”

“To treat a baby with HLHS, surgeons perform a staged repair, beginning with the Norwood procedure shortly after birth, followed by two more surgeries. This medical treatment gives children a high chance of going on to live full lives,” she explained.

After West declined to endhis life, the couple cut off payments and their lawyers threatened six-figure penalties. They later sued her in Alaska seeking at least $100,000.

“The threats eventually became real,” West wrote. “But no threat or amount of money could sway my conviction that this baby had a real chance at a full life, and I could not participate in killing him and depriving him of that opportunity.”

West moved with her two children to Texas and chose a hospital with a 100 percent survival rate for the Norwood procedure. She gave birth on August 12 and named the boy Gabriel. The biological parents call him Rumi.

The infant underwent the Norwood procedure earlier this week.

“I’m eternally grateful that the Texas family court and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ordered that the baby boy I carried must receive the necessary surgery,” West wrote.

West has said her fight centers on ensuring the child receives the care he needs.

“This is about giving an innocent child a shot at the life he deserves,” she wrote. “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.”

“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 declared.

Under Texas law, the woman who gives birth is recognized as the mother.

West is seeking parentage with help from Alliance Defending Freedom and has asked only for a commitment that the baby will receive the care his heart requires. Her attorney, Lincoln Wilson, said the biological parents “haven’t given [West] anything since she declined to terminate the pregnancy.”

Attorney Lee Budner, representing Gilkar and Ahmed, previously said the infant is “recuperating under the loving care of his parents and his heroic team of doctors, nurses, and medical staff” and called West’s parentage claims “baseless.” The biological parents have stated in court filings that they respected her decision not to abort and denied any intent to withhold treatment.

Legal disputes continue in multiple states.