Dallas, Texas — A surrogate who traveled to Texas after refusing the intended parents’ request for an abortion has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to temporarily block a California ruling recognizing the couple as the newborn’s legal parents.
McKenna West gave birth Aug. 12 to a boy she calls Gabriel. The intended parents, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, call him Rumi. During the pregnancy, doctors diagnosed the fetus with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a serious congenital condition requiring multiple surgeries. The couple initially considered abortion after the diagnosis but later decided to continue the pregnancy, according to court records.
West nevertheless sought custody and authority over the child’s medical care in Texas. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened, and a Texas judge temporarily prevented the baby from being removed from the state while ordering continued medical treatment.
On Sept. 1, however, the Texas court recognized an earlier California judgment establishing Ahmed and Gilkar as the child’s parents and dismissed West from the Texas case. West now argues California lacked jurisdiction and is asking the Supreme Court to stay that ruling while she pursues further review.
The Supreme Court docket shows West’s emergency application was filed Sept. 9 and submitted to Justice Elena Kagan.
West says she fears the child could be transferred to California and placed in hospice care rather than continue treatment. The intended parents maintain that they are the child’s legal parents, while the broader jurisdictional dispute remains unresolved.
Sources
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