Surrogate mother who fled to Texas appeals custody case to supreme court
McKenna West requests emergency block on order naming biological parents as four-week-old baby’s legal parents
TL;DR
- McKenna West, a surrogate mother, is seeking US Supreme Court intervention to retain custody of a baby with a severe heart defect.
- West relocated from Alaska to Texas, which has abortion bans, after the biological parents allegedly requested an abortion.
- The biological parents, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, deny pressuring West for an abortion and state she initially agreed.
- A Texas judge previously ordered lifesaving care for the baby and prohibited removal from the state.
- A California court recognized Ahmed and Gilkar as the legal parents, dismissing West from the case.
- West's appeal argues that a stay is needed to preserve her rights and allow her to remain informed about the baby during critical surgeries.