Surrogate Mother Sues for Custody After Refusing Abortion
A legal battle is underway over a baby born in Texas after the surrogate mother refused the intended parents' request for an abortion.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Baby in handen van de moeder.
Photograph: Reformatorisch Dagblad (embedded from source)
What this story says
- McKenna West gave birth to a baby in Texas on August 12, 2026, who was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
- The intended parents, Nasheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, sued West for more than $100,000, alleging breach of contract after she refused their request for an abortion.
- West named the child Gabriel, while the intended parents refer to him as Rumi, and she is seeking custody based on Texas law.
- Texas law automatically grants legal parentage to the woman who gives birth, complicating the custody dispute.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
76/100
Craft
95/100
Hype
55/100
6 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
Only 1 of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
A legal dispute has emerged over a baby born in Texas on August 12, 2026. The surrogate mother, McKenna West, gave birth to a child diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a serious congenital heart defect. The intended parents, Nasheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, had requested that West terminate the pregnancy after the diagnosis. West refused this request and travelled to Texas to give birth.
Following the birth, Gilkar and Ahmed initiated legal action, suing West for more than $100,000 and alleging breach of contract. They also seek unspecified damages for what they describe as her "malicious, outrageous conduct." West has named the child Gabriel, while the intended parents refer to him as Rumi. The intended parents deny threatening to force West to undergo an abortion.
Disagreement over the circumstances of the birth and custody claims
The Reformatorisch Dagblad reported that West had signed a clause agreeing to a potential abortion, but that Texas law automatically grants parentage to the birth mother. This outlet also stated that the intended parents came to Texas and are caring for the baby, and that West has not been allowed to see the baby since birth. Fox News reported that West claims the baby was "ripped away" 60 seconds after birth and that she is continuing her legal fight. Punch Newspapers reported that West's lawyer stated she is seeking parentage because she gave birth in Texas, and that a reproductive law attorney previously told The Post that West has virtually no legal claim to the child.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated reports mention the $60,000 payment agreed upon between the intended parents and McKenna West for her surrogacy services, as detailed in the left-rated report. The left-rated report also does not mention the specific legal arguments or statements made by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, which were noted in the right-rated Reformatorisch Dagblad.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 23 Aug 2026, 01:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
McKenna West pictured in this undated handout photo from an Alliance Defending Freedom press release. Alliance Defending Freedom
Punch Newspapers — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
1 rated outlet
- The left-rated report from Punch Newspapers focused on the lawsuit filed by the intended parents, Nasheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, against surrogate mother McKenna West for more than $100,000. It detailed the couple's agreement, which included an abortion clause, and their request for termination after the baby was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The report noted West's refusal and her subsequent travel to Texas to give birth. It also included statements from West's lawyer and a reproductive law attorney regarding West's legal standing. The intended parents denied threatening to force an abortion. The report also mentioned the baby's names, Gabriel and Rumi, and that the baby underwent lifesaving heart surgery.
Centre
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated centre has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Right
5 rated outlets
- Right-rated reports from Reformatorisch Dagblad, NewsBusters, Alaska Watchman, National Catholic Register, and Fox News highlighted the conflict between the intended parents' desire for an abortion and the surrogate mother's refusal. Reformatorisch Dagblad framed the situation as a complex ethical and legal issue, quoting an ethicist who described the problems inherent in surrogacy and the potential for coercion. This report also noted the political polarisation surrounding the case in the US, with Texas's Republican Attorney General supporting West. NewsBusters and National Catholic Register focused on the lawsuit and the surrogate's refusal to abort due to the baby's heart condition. Alaska Watchman likened the attempt to force an abortion to slavery. Fox News reported West's claim that the baby was taken from her shortly after birth and that she is continuing her legal fight.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Surrogate Mother Sues for Custody After Refusing Abortion?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 17% are rated left, 0% are rated centre, 83% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Surrogate Mother Sues for Custody After Refusing Abortion left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Surrogate Mother Sues for Custody After Refusing Abortion biased?
- Surrogate Mother Sues for Custody After Refusing Abortion is one event reported by 6 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Surrogate Mother Sues for Custody After Refusing Abortion?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Surrogate Mother Sues for Custody After Refusing Abortion?
- 6 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Who are the intended parents and the surrogate mother?
- The intended parents are Nasheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed. The surrogate mother who gave birth in Texas is McKenna West. The baby was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
- Why are the intended parents suing the surrogate mother?
- The intended parents are suing McKenna West for more than $100,000, alleging breach of contract. This action followed her refusal to terminate the pregnancy after the baby was diagnosed with a heart defect.
- What is the legal situation regarding parentage in Texas?
- Texas law automatically grants legal parentage to the woman who gives birth to a child. McKenna West is asserting her parental rights based on this law, while the intended parents are seeking custody through their lawsuit.
Read it at the source
6 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
1Centre
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Right
5- Murray Questions Choice After Surrogate Mother Chooses NOT To Get an Abortion (opens NewsBusters in a new tab)
NewsBusters — is NewsBusters biased? Our profile of this outlet
- The Prospective Parents Wanted an Abortion, the Surrogate Mother Did Not; Whose Baby Is It Now? (opens Reformatorisch Dagblad in a new tab)
Reformatorisch Dagblad — is Reformatorisch Dagblad biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Attempt to force surrogate Alaska mom to abort pre-born baby is akin to slavery (opens Alaska Watchman in a new tab)
Alaska Watchman — is Alaska Watchman biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Surrogate Mother Faces $100,000 Lawsuit From Biological Parents for Refusing to Abort Baby (opens National Catholic Register in a new tab)
National Catholic Register — is National Catholic Register biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Surrogate says baby 'ripped away' 60 seconds after birth as custody fight erupts after abortion refusal (opens Fox News in a new tab)
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
