The biological parents of a baby boy whom a surrogate refused to abort have revealed why they wanted to end the pregnancy, as the surrogate seeks sole custody of the child she crossed state lines for.
Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed had hired McKenna West, 28, to be their surrogate after Gilkar said her body ‘gave up on me.’
She went through eight failed rounds of IVF and had to have a hysterectomy, the biological mother of 13-day-old Rumi testified in a Dallas court on Tuesday.
‘This was our only option,’ Gilkar said, before becoming so overwhelmed with emotion that the court had to recess in order for her to compose herself. ‘We’ve never wanted anything more than this baby.’
The court also saw the surrogacy agreement West signed where she agreed to allow the parents to terminate the pregnancy if there were ‘fetal abnormalities.’
By April, the surrogate mother learned the baby in her womb was diagnosed with a delicate heart condition – hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) – which he might not survive.
Yet West refused to get an amniocentesis test that would have told doctors definitively if the unborn baby was a candidate for the open-heart surgery that would be necessary to keep him alive, Gilkar and Ahmed’s lawyer argued.
Gilkar has since admitted she and her husband asked West to terminate the pregnancy due to the complications with the baby’s heart condition, but denied they ever refused or intended to refuse medical care to the child.
Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, the biological parents of a baby boy a surrogate refused to abort opened up on Tuesday about why they felt using a surrogate was their only option
McKenna West, center, the Alaska surrogate mother who fled to Texas to give birth, is pictured arriving in court Tuesday for a hearing after she asked for sole custody of the baby boy
Health complications then started the moment baby Rumi was born on August 12, requiring him to be resuscitated.
‘When they tried to give him medicine, the tube came out and he stopped breathing and chaplain was called,’ Gilkar sobbed. ‘He’s suffering a lot.’
Additionally, Rumi has undergone genetic testing, blood work, and echo cardiogram as well as that two-day open heart procedure called the ‘Norwood.’
However, the surgery was delayed by days because West did not get the amniocentesis test while pregnant.
Due to his constant need for medical attention, the biological parents have only held Rumi for a handful of times since he was born.
‘He the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. He’s the love of our lives,’ the biological mother said while still wearing her orange hospital bracelet.
The couple have been in the Lone Star state since August 10, when West relocated to Texas without their permission to give birth to their son.
A Dallas judge ruled the temporary restraining order against surrogate mother McKenna West would remain in place until she made a ruling in the next 14 days
Baby Rumi’s biological parents left the courthouse without speaking to the media, however, the revealed they have been in Texas since August 10
Rumi is now in critical condition. His lawyer testified it would be another three to four weeks before doctors can tell if the surgery he had actually worked, and that he would remain in critical care for at least another month.
In the meantime, lawyers for the biological parents are asking the court to dismiss West’s claims for maternity.
They argue that she signed a surrogacy agreement acknowledging she was the ‘carrier’ and that Gilkar and Ahmed were the sole legal and genetic parents of the child.
The biological parents have already won one legal battle, as a court in California declared them the sole legal parents.
West, a mother of her own two biological children, has also been barred from having any contact with the newborn after his biological parents were granted a temporary restraining order.
But lawyers for West, paid for by the Alliance Defending Freedom, argue she is the mother because she gave birth to the child.
She has filed for custody of the baby boy and is suing the parents for breach of contract since they are no longer paying her surrogate salary.
The surrogate mother McKenna West (pictured) gave birth on Wednesday and has filed for custody
West, a mother of her own two biological children, has been barred from having any contact with the newborn after his biological parents were granted a temporary restraining order
Defending her actions on Tuesday, West said she ‘knew that I wanted to protect’ the baby.
‘I knew that he deserved to be protected and that he deserved a chance,’ said the nurse, whose legal fees and living expenses are being paid for by a conservative group – even though she raised more than $128,000 in an online fundraiser.
When the nearly five-hour-long hearing ended, Dallas County Judge Ashley Wysocki ruled she would extend the temporary restraining order for 14 days as she mulls a decision in the custody case.
She also ruled that future matters regarding the case would be sealed to protect baby Rumi.
