Supreme Court declines to intervene in surrogate custody dispute over newborn with heart defect
The U.S. Supreme Court denied a request for emergency relief in a multi-state custody case involving a surrogate and the genetic parents of a baby born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
Justice Elena Kagan rejected a petition for the Supreme Court to intervene in a custody dispute that pits surrogate McKenna West against the biological parents, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, of a newborn diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. West, a cardiac nurse from Alaska, gave birth to the child, named Gabriel, in Texas and argued that California courts denied her due process when they awarded custody to the parents. A Texas judge dismissed her claims, and her appeal for a stay was denied without a written opinion.
West’s attorneys had urged the Court to act, asserting that the infant’s health could be jeopardized if he remained with the parents. The parents maintain that they are seeking appropriate medical care for the child, whom they have renamed Rumi, and contend that West’s actions are causing unnecessary delays. A Texas Supreme Court order last week permitted the baby’s transfer to California, where the parents have arranged medical treatment, stating that preserving the child’s life is the primary concern.
The newborn’s condition, a severe congenital heart defect, requires immediate and specialized care. Court documents obtained by the Associated Press indicate the infant was in critical condition following heart surgery in Texas. The surrogacy contract, signed in August 2025, included a clause allowing termination of the pregnancy if a fetal abnormality was detected. After the defect was identified, the parents sought to invoke the clause, but West refused.
State Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for U.S. Senate, assisted West in obtaining an order for the infant’s care in Texas. Subsequent rulings in Alaska and Texas deferred to the California custody decision. West alleges the parents violated the contract by pursuing custody in California and that she has been denied information about the child’s health.
In a filing, West warned that without court relief she would receive no further updates about the baby she carried for 37 weeks and fought to save.