US3 min(s) read
Published 13:06 17 Aug 2026 GMT
A Texas surrogate was reportedly being paid $6,000 a month to carry a couple's baby, but the financial agreement included a number of additional payments that could have seen her receive potentially thousands more.
McKenna West gave birth to baby Gabriel on August 12, after his biological parents had asked her to terminate the pregnancy following several medical diagnoses.
The 28-year-old refused, choosing instead to continue with the pregnancy and give the baby a chance at life. Gabriel was diagnosed before birth with a severe heart condition and has since been receiving lifesaving treatment in a neonatal intensive care unit.
The baby has now been returned to his biological parents, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, while the legal dispute surrounding his future continues.
Court documents have since revealed details of the financial agreement between West and the couple.
According to the Daily Mail, West's basic payment was $6,000 per month for 10 months during the pregnancy. However, several additional payments were included in the arrangement.
She was due an extra $5,000 if she required a Caesarean section, while a termination would have resulted in another $2,000 payment.
The agreement also included a $500 payment for signing the contract, alongside a $300 monthly allowance intended to cover living expenses.
The biological parents had also agreed to pay for medical tests, examinations and procedures connected with the pregnancy, as well as compensate West for any wages she lost as a result.
There were further financial incentives depending on how the pregnancy progressed.
She also received an additional $3,000 once the pregnancy had been confirmed as viable. Had she been carrying twins or multiple babies, she would reportedly have received another $10,000 for each additional fetus.
The dispute began after West underwent her 20-week ultrasound.
Doctors discovered that Gabriel had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a serious condition in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped and unable to pump blood effectively.
The condition can be life-threatening and typically requires multiple major operations after birth.
Despite the biological parents requesting a termination following the diagnosis, West refused and continued with the pregnancy.
The woman, who is already a mother to two children, has subsequently sought custody of Gabriel.
The legal dispute between West and the biological parents is ongoing.
According to court documents, Ahmed and Gilkar "ceased all payment to McKenna in May, following… [her] decision to decline the late-term abortion".
West is now attempting to establish parental rights over the child, while Ahmed and Gilkar maintain that the existing surrogacy agreement establishes them as Gabriel's legal parents.
For now, a Texas court has restricted West from seeing the baby, with another hearing scheduled for August 25.
A friend of West has also launched a GiveSendGo fundraiser, claiming the surrogate has "sacrificed so much" throughout the ordeal.
The friend said: "She has lost the payments she was relying on and is now facing the possibility of being sued for all money paid to her – or on her behalf – since the beginning of her surrogacy journey."
