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Surrogate McKenna West Appeals to Supreme Court to Halt California Custody Ruling for Heart-Defect Baby

McKenna West has filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court to halt a California court order that recognizes Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar as the legal parents of their newborn child. The dispute began after the California couple requested an abortion for the fetus at 23 weeks following a diagnosis of hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition where the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped. West, who served as the surrogate, refused the request and traveled to Texas to give birth in August. West argues that the couple may not be committed to providing the necessary life-saving surgeries for the child, whom she calls Gabriel and the couple calls Rumi. A Texas court previously issued a restraining order preventing West from seeing or holding the child and granted full credit to the California judgment, which dismissed West from the proceedings. West's attorneys contend that the California ruling leaves her without access to information regarding the child's medical condition. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened to secure an emergency order requiring the child to receive medical care in Texas. West stated she would drop her custody claims if the couple agreed to provide the child with life-saving care.

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