Texas surrogate's sprawling contract with biological parents revealed in court records: Massive monthly payment plan, long list of expenses... and additional 'abortion fee' she refused

By MARYANN MARTINEZ, US TEXAS BUREAU CHIEF Published: 00:49, 15 August 2026 | Updated: 00:56, 15 August 2026 The woman at the center of the Baby Gabriel surrogacy case that has divided the nation was paid tens of thousands of dollars to carry the child – and would have received additional fees pending the outcome of his birth, the Daily Mail can reveal. McKenna West sparked a social media firestorm and national debate this week when she refused to honor the wishes of the child's biological parents to terminate the pregnancy on medical grounds. Determined to give the infant a chance at life despite being diagnosed with a severe heart defect, she fled from her home state of Alaska to Texas, which has some of the strictest abortion laws in the country. Amid an angry public debate that involved Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, she gave birth to the baby, who she named Gabriel, on Wednesday. The infant has since been returned to the custody of its biological parents, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, while he receives life-saving NICU care. West's arrangement with the biological parents can now be revealed in full detail for the first time. Public court records obtained by Daily Mail on Friday reveal she was to be paid $6,000 a month for ten months as base compensation. She was to receive an additional $5,000 in the event of a C-section and, notably, $2,000 if the pregnancy had to be terminated. The surrogate baby McKenna West (pictured) gave birth to on Wednesday is now in the custody of his biological parents, a new report stated The documents expose the intricate arrangement between the two parties before their agreement crumbled in front of America. Now, they are embroiled in a complicated family law nightmare. According to the surrogacy agreement, which is part of the court record and was signed August 29, 2025, West would be paid $500 for signing the contract and a $300 monthly allowance. The biological parents agreed to cover the cost of medical, physical and mental health exams. Additionally, West would be afforded a $1,000 allowance for maternity clothing - $750 to be paid at 12 weeks and $250 paid at 16 weeks. The biological parents also agreed to pay for travel, mileage and tolls for doctors’ appointments, childcare for her two previous children and any lost wages related to the pregnancy, according to the court papers. The Los Angeles couple also agreed to pay for vitamins, miscellaneous pregnancy-related expenses and housekeeping. For instance, West traveled from Alaska to LA to be implanted with the embryo and was paid $1,000 for having the procedure. She received another $3,000 once the pregnancy was confirmed as being viable. If West had been pregnant with multiple fetuses, she would have been entitled to $10,000 per additional fetus. The story quickly caught the country's attention, and just one day before his birth, West was granted clearance to get life-saving care for the baby, but a judge also ruled that she cannot have contact with the baby after his birth Some of the expenses were not automatic and instead depended on the how the pregnancy progressed. For instance, if West lost earnings at her nurse job in Anchorage due to the pregnancy, she would be reimbursed for missed wages. She would also be paid if she had lost earnings in the event of disability due to pregnancy. When the baby arrived, she would be paid $5,000 if she needed a c-section. In case of a termination of the pregnancy, she would be paid an automatic $2,000. She would also receive $2,000 if the pregnancy required what's called a 'selective reduction,' where a medical procedure is used to decrease the number of fetuses. West also stood to make $500 for each overnight hospital stay once the baby was born and thousands more if there were serious complications. At the 20-week ultrasound in April, West and the biological parents learned the baby had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, where the left side of the heart is too small to pump blood effectively. The condition is life-threatening and requires multiple surgeries. West claims in her court filings that the biological parents demanded she abort the baby, which she refused. The biological parents dispute West's account of their decision-making, court documents show. In court filings where West sought custody of the baby, she said the couple pressured her to end the pregnancy and arranged for her to fly to Seattle for the procedure. She also complained in her filing that they were trying to 'cut costs' by booking her into a Holiday Inn Express for the abortion in Washington State. West, a single mom of two of her own children, refused to terminate the pregnancy. She said in her filing that she understood that refusing to comply with the arrangement could leave her liable for as much as $250,000. After canceling the abortion and months of legal battles in California and Alaska, West arrived in Dallas on July 15. She had identified UT Southwestern as the best place to deliver the baby due to its fetal heart program and experience treating babies with the boy’s condition. Live Action founder and president Lila Rose (pictured) helped get West and her children to Texas to get life-saving care for the infant West, while asking for custody of the baby, claims she had not been paid since June after breaking the surrogacy contract, according to the court filing. The biological parents 'ceased all payment to McKenna in May, following… [her] decision to decline the late-term abortion,' the legal document reads. 'No payments have been made during the months of June or July,’ the filing states. West asked the court to veto the surrogacy agreement and grant her parental rights to the baby. West gave birth to the baby in Dallas on Wednesday, August 12. The newborn is now in the custody of Ahmed and Gilkar and is receiving specialized treatment for his heart condition. But the legal battle is far from over. West is seeking to establish parental rights to the baby, while Ahmed and Gilkar say the surrogacy agreement makes them his legal parents. A Texas court has temporarily granted the couple authority over the baby's medical care and restricted West's access, with a further hearing scheduled for August 25.