A surrogate mother, McKenna West, who fled to Texas after the biological parents allegedly requested an abortion for the baby with a life-threatening heart defect, has appealed to the US Supreme Court to intervene in the custody case and allow her to keep the child.
McKenna West, a surrogate mother, has filed an emergency application with the US Supreme Court, asking it to temporarily block a California court order that recognized Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar as the legal parents of a four-week-old baby. West is seeking to retain custody of the child, who suffers from hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare and life-threatening congenital heart defect requiring multiple surgeries. The case escalated when West refused the biological parents' alleged demand for an abortion after the diagnosis and traveled from Alaska to Texas, which bans most abortions, seeking sole conservatorship. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened to ensure the baby received lifesaving medical treatment. While the biological parents deny forcing an abortion, they acknowledge considering it. A Texas judge initially ordered the hospital to provide care and prohibited the child's removal from Texas. However, a Texas court later recognized a California judgment establishing Ahmed and Gilkar as the parents, dismissing West from the case. West's appeal to the Supreme Court argues that a stay is necessary to preserve the status quo, allow her to advocate for the child, and prevent irreparable harm, particularly fearing the child could be moved to California for hospice despite his treatable condition.
