US Supreme Court Declines to Intervene in Custody Fight Over Baby Born Via Surrogate
Surrogate who rejected abortion request had asked justices to halt court order recognizing LA couple as legal parents
TL;DR
- The Supreme Court denied an emergency request from surrogate McKenna West to halt a California court order recognizing Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar as the legal parents of her child.
- West, an Alaska nurse, refused to abort the pregnancy after a scan revealed the baby had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, despite the contract with the California couple including an abortion clause for fetal abnormality.
- The case gained national attention, with West traveling to Texas to give birth and seeking custody, arguing the parents sought an abortion and thus wouldn't provide adequate care.
- The Texas Supreme Court previously ruled the child could relocate to a Los Angeles hospital for treatment.