US4 min(s) read
A California couple has made a huge claim about their surrogate after she refused to abort their seriously sick child.
The parents are currently locked in a custody battle with McKenna West, an Alaskan native who was carrying their baby when doctors found at around 20 weeks that the unborn baby had hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS).
This is a rare condition where the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped, and while the condition can be treated with surgery shortly after birth, children could face lifelong health issues.
In response to this sad news, biological parents Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed asked West to terminate the pregnancy, which they were entitled to request under the terms of the surrogacy agreement.
West then traveled to Texas, where abortion laws are among the strictest in the country, though she would reportedly be banned from seeing or holding the baby after he was born.
Now, the biological parents are making a fresh claim.
Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar have accused West of 'fabricating' an emergency as well as putting the child's medical care at risk.
The couple made these fresh claims in a new filing with the US Supreme Court, as the multi-state battle over their five-week-old son has now reached the US' highest court.
Their attorneys alleged that West conducted a 'publicity tour', including making false claims about the baby's healthcare while pursuing legal action that they claim could affect the baby's treatment.
This comes after West asked the Supreme Court to stop a California judgment that recognized Ahmed and Gilkar as the legal parents of the ill newborn, whom they call Rumi and West calls Gabriel.
West is seeking custody or conservatorship, claiming that she believes the couple wouldn't let the baby undergo lifesaving treatment.
The couple have rejected that allegation, with their lawyers claiming that granting West's requested emergency stay would 'endanger rather than safeguard' Rumi as they would be casting doubt over who could approve his medical treatment.
Attorney Adam Wolf said in a statement alongside the filing: "McKenna West fabricated an emergency,
"If the Supreme Court were to grant the application for an emergency stay, it would threaten Rumi's ability to receive necessary healthcare, further stacking the deck against him.
"It's time to stop playing politics. A child's life is at stake."
Lee Budner, another of the parents' attorneys, went on: "While McKenna West has been conducting a publicity tour, Rumi's parents have been quietly caring for their child and following the recommendations of Rumi's medical team."
He went on: "A stay would not change who Rumi's parents are,
"It would only create confusion over medical decision-making authority and jeopardize the providers' ability to rely on the parents' consent to Rumi's treatment."
Pictures uploaded by the parents show the baby surrounded by medical equipment, with a surgical scar running down his chest.
Gilkar tearfully spoke of her journey to become a mother after eight unsuccessful rounds of IVF and a hysterectomy, explaining: "He's our child, we've never wanted anything more than this baby."
She also responded to West's claims that they would deny the boy lifesaving care, as the latter claims she should have legal authority to protect the child, bringing the case to the Supreme Court.
The parents have fought back against these claims, as their attorneys say Ahmed and Gilkar have followed the recommendations of doctors caring for the baby, while being present at hospital.
They have now launched a GoFundMe to help pay for medication, surgeries, therapy, hospital stays, travel, and other expenses linked with Rumi's treatment.
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