Baby Gabriel has been born and is “on the path” to receiving the life-saving care he needs.
By Catholics for Catholics
A surrogate mother who declined to abort the baby regardless of the intentions of the intended biological parents, gave birth early on Wednesday.
McKenna West, a single mother of two children who is a nurse in Alaska, has been embroiled in a prickly multi-state controversy over parental rights and abortion after the unborn child she was carrying was diagnosed with an acute but treatable heart condition, according to a story by the Daily Wire.
West was scheduled to give birth on Sept. 2, but delivered the baby she named Gabriel in the Dallas area on Wednesday, her attorney Lincoln Wilson told The Dallas Morning News.
West chose to become a surrogate mother after hearing about a friend’s encouraging experience, thinking it would permit her to make some extra money while aiding another family to have a child, according to Live Action News. In February 2025, she applied to a surrogacy agency, was approved, and was matched with a California couple she at first described as a “perfect match.”
But things did not turn out as planned by the contracting parent, when at 20 weeks, Baby Gabriel was diagnosed in utero with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) — a severe but treatable congenital heart condition that typically requires three staged surgeries.
After learning of the malady, his biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, reportedly demanded that West travel to California to abort the child, according to the New York Post.
Wow. 28-year-old surrogate McKenna reveals an abortion was scheduled in Seattle for Baby Gabriel.
— Anna Lulis (@annamlulis) August 13, 2026
She escaped to Texas to give birth to the little boy, saving his life.
“His life doesn’t have a price tag on it” pic.twitter.com/55jxxwM6x7
“So we were all really upset. It was completely unexpected. Everything had been going great,” West, who became pregnant through IVF, told Live Action News. “I was full of fear and stress of what they were going to choose. I was feeling pretty confident that they were going to choose termination, and how could I possibly live with myself going through that?”
West said no and went to Dallas, where she sought legal protection and access to doctors experienced in treating Gabriel’s condition. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stepped in on Tuesday and obtained an emergency court order ensuring the child receives life-saving medical treatment at birth and cannot be taken out of Texas while the case remains ongoing.
West says having the baby could cost her $200,000 — a price she was willing to pay.
“This is my body, and I absolutely don’t want to go through this. Nothing was scarier than questioning my own soul and knowing what would happen to this baby boy,” she told Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action. “His life doesn’t have a price tag on it. There’s nothing that they could try to come after me for that would be worth his life.”
Save and Share This Catholic Patriotic Minute!
