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US supreme court declines to intervene in custody fight over baby born via surrogate
The Guardian • • general
Key Points:
- The Supreme Court declined to intervene in a custody dispute involving an Alaska surrogate, McKenna West, and a California couple, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, over a child born with a serious heart defect.
- The couple had contracted West to terminate the pregnancy if a fetal abnormality was detected, but West refused and gave birth in Texas, where abortion is illegal, leading to legal battles over custody and medical care.
- Texas authorities, including Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, became involved, and a Dallas judge ordered that the baby receive medical treatment; the Texas Supreme Court allowed the child to be moved to Los Angeles for care.
- West seeks custody, arguing the legal parents may not provide adequate medical care due to their prior request for an abortion, and claims exclusion from making critical health decisions for the child she carried for 37 weeks.
- The case has drawn national attention, highlighting complex issues around surrogacy, abortion rights, and parental custody in medically sensitive situations.
