Published: 20:55 BST, 12 August 2026 | Updated: 22:15 BST, 12 August 2026
The baby at the center of a surrogacy controversy that's captivated the country has been born at a hospital in Texas, according to a new report.
McKenna West gave birth to a boy, who's been referred to as 'Baby Gabriel,' on Wednesday morning in the Dallas area, her attorney, Lincoln Wilson, told The Dallas Morning News.
The infant will now undergo a life-saving surgery after he was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome while in the womb.
The condition sparked immediate controversy and lawsuits between West, 28, and the baby's biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar, 43, and Omar Ahmed, 45.
During her 20-week ultrasound, a doctor told the nurse from Alaska and his biological parents 'there was something really wrong with the baby's heart,' as no blood was flowing through the left side, West previously said.
West was then referred to a maternal-fetal medicine doctor, who diagnosed the baby with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition that can often be remedied with surgery immediately after birth.
But that's when the child's biological parents first brought up aborting the child – something West was not on board with.
When she first met with the parents, a couple from California, the contract she signed included a clause that would require her to abort the baby in the event of an 'anomaly.'
McKenna West gave birth to a boy on Wednesday morning in Dallas, Texas, her attorney said
West, a mother of two, expressed her concern to the Connecticut-based Worldwide Surrogacy Specialist, LLC about the clause, but the agency told her that a situation like that is rare.
She went on to ask the agency if she could help financially assist the couple regarding care for their child so they wouldn't abort him, and told his parents that she's heard of people surviving with the condition.
Despite her best efforts, Ahmed told West that he and his wife had already removed the baby's 12-week ultrasound from their fridge at home, and told her she could mail the 20-week images – but to address the envelope only to him.
Upon researching more about the heart condition, West found out that a hospital in Dallas has had a 100 percent success rate in recent years with the first of three surgeries an affected baby would need right after birth.
She then told the surrogacy agency that she would live with a friend in Texas to mitigate the costs for the couple, but a liaison for the agency said the biological parents were still concerned about the baby's future quality of life.
