Surrogate mum who gave birth after refusing abortion received massive monthly payments from biological parents
Details of the surrogacy agreement which McKenna West signed have emerged, revealing how much money she was being paid before she was allegedly asked to terminate the pregnancy.
The nurse, from Alaska, was hired by Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed to carry their child - but they are now locked in a legal battle over custody of the baby who was welcomed into the world on Wednesday (12 August).
A friend of West has claimed that the single mother-of-two is 'facing the possibility of being sued for all money paid to her since the beginning of her surrogacy journey' amid the row over the newborn.
West gave birth earlier this week to a little boy who she named Gabriel, although the tot's biological parents are said to have given him a different name.
Advert
Reports allege that the surrogate was unable to see or hold him due to a temporary restraining order issued by Gilkar and Ahmed, which strips her of any legal authority over Gabriel.
West therefore does not have any say in his care and is not recognised as a parent, despite her lawyer insisting that 'she is the mother' because of where the baby was born.
He was delivered by West in Dallas, Texas - which is where she fled to in wake of Gilkar and Ahmed allegedly instructing her to abort the child. Abortion is illegal in the state and there are extremely strict laws.
West claims that she was told to terminate the pregnancy by the California couple after being informed that Gabriel has a serious heart condition called hypoplastic left heart syndrome, or HLHS, at her 20-week ultrasound.
The nurse alleges that there was a clause in her surrogacy contract that required her to abort the baby if there was an 'anomaly'.
However, she previously told Live Action News: "I knew that I didn't want to have to go through [an abortion]. I didn't want for this baby...for his life to be cut short.
"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 told the publication that the couple stopped sending her money due to her refusal and demanded that she returned the cash they had already paid her - on top of asking further expenses for allegedly breaking their contract.
One of her pals, who identified herself as 'Ellen', launched a GiveSendGo fundraiser for West, which also alleges: "McKenna has already sacrificed so much. 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."
The ins and outs of the agreement which is said to have been forged between her, Gilkar and Ahmed has now been revealed in a new report.
According to the Daily Mail, public court records detail the payments that West was receiving for her role in the surrogacy arrangement, which was signed on 29 August, 2025.
How McKenna West was being financially compensated
She was reportedly set to receive $6,000 (£4,434) a month for a period of ten months, which was described as a 'base compensation' for her services.
If West required a C-section, she would have been awarded a $5,000 (£3,695) payment. In the event of a termination, she would have reportedly received $2,000 (£1,478).
Gilkar and Ahmed were set to foot the bill for any medical, physical and mental health exams, according to the agreement, while also providing West with a $1,000 (£739) maternity clothing allowance.
Travel, mileage and tolls expenses would also fall on the couple if West needed to journey for doctors appointments. The court documents are also said to state that they would pay for childcare for West's own two children and any wages she may lose out on due to pregnancy-related matters.
Other expenses that Gilkar and Ahmed were going to absorb include vitamins, various pregnancy-related expenses and housekeeping.
It is claimed that West received $500 (£370) for signing the surrogacy contract, a $300 (£220) monthly allowance, $1,000 (£739) when the embryo was implanted and a further $3,000 (£2,217) when the pregnancy was confirmed to be viable.
She would have got $10,000 (£7,390) for each foetus if she became pregnant with multiple and $2,000 if the pregnancy required a 'selective reduction' of these.
Each overnight stay in the hospital which she may have endured after the baby's birth would have also earned her $500 each night.
Several of these stipulations in the surrogacy contract depended upon how West's pregnancy progressed, rather than being guaranteed payments.
The mum claims she stopped receiving money from the couple in June after she announced her decision not to abort the baby.
West alleges that she could now be on the hook for up to $250,000 due to proceeding with the pregnancy.
Gabriel is receiving specialised care in relation to his HLHS diagnosis and is currently in the custody of Gilkar and Ahmed, however, West's lawyer said she intends to take her fight for custody to the US Supreme Court if she has to.
LADbible has reached out to Gilkar and Ahmed's legal representative for comment.
Olivia Burke