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Supreme Court declines to intervene in surrogate-custody battle over heart-defect baby

Justice Kagan rejected McKenna West's emergency appeal in a multistate dispute with California parents over a newborn with a severe heart condition.

newest coverage 18h agosummary written 1d ago54 pieces79 likes & upvotes6 comments Google NewsNewswiresMastodonBluesky

What to know

  • The Supreme Court declined to intervene after surrogate McKenna West asked it to block a California custody order recognizing the genetic parents as the child's legal guardians.
  • West refused to comply when Ahmed and Gilkar invoked a surrogacy contract clause allowing them to demand abortion after the fetus was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a severe congenital heart defect.
  • The child, now five weeks old, has undergone one of three surgeries required for his condition and is in the custody of Ahmed and Gilkar, who are providing medical care in California.
  • West contests the California court's jurisdiction, arguing the surrogacy contract required any legal disputes be resolved in Alaska, and has expressed concern about losing contact with the child.

“without relief, she will receive no further information about the child she carried for 37 weeks and fought to save.”

McKenna West, Surrogate · NBC News ↗

McKenna West Surrogate, cardiac nurseOmar Ahmed Genetic father, California residentNausheen Gilkar Genetic mother, California residentJustice Elena KaganJustice Elena Kagan Supreme Court JusticeKen PaxtonKen Paxton Texas Attorney General

Supreme Court declines to intervene in surrogate-custody battle over heart-defect baby
cbsnews.com

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

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Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22yesterdaynow · 6:09 AM ET
  1. 1

    Justice Kagan denies West's emergency appeal to Supreme Court

    Justice Elena Kagan rejected West's request for the Supreme Court to intervene and block the California custody order. Kagan issued a Tuesday order with no written decision. West had argued in her filing that a 'life hangs in the balance' and that she feared the baby would not receive proper medical care from his parents.

    “She's making us run from doctor to doctor, state to state with our baby. She's trying to take him.”
    — Nausheen Gilkar, genetic mother
    1. 7 outlets US supreme court declines to intervene in custody fight over baby born via surrogate

      first by Guardian US, 1d ago · also Washington Examiner, NBC News, CTV News, Fox News, UPI, Guardian

      5 more headlines
    2. 7 outlets US Supreme Court won’t intervene in custody dispute between California couple and surrogate

      first by apnews.com, 1d ago · also BBC, Independent UK, CBS News, Mercury News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Associated Press

      3 more headlines
    3 more claims →
    • nytimes.com

      Breaking News: Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan refused to intervene in a high-profile custody battle that involved questions surrounding surrogacy and abortion, leaving in place an order that gave custody to the biological parents.

      nytimes.comBluesky1d ago47▲view on Bluesky ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 4 posts in this stretch

    • Supreme Court rejects appeal from surrogate in high-profile custody fight https://www. usatoday.com/story/news/politi cs/2026/09/22/supreme-court-surrogate-custody-abortion/91711104007/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub Posted into Top Stories @ top-stories-USAToday

      USAToday@flipboard.comMastodon1d ago1▲view on Mastodon ↗
    • bermaninstitute@mastodon.world

      Justice Elena Kagan on Tuesday refused to intervene in a high-profile custody battle that involved difficult questions surrounding surrogacy and abortion, leaving in place a lower-court order that gave custody to the biological parents in the dispute. https://www. nytimes.com/2026/09/22/us/poli…

      bermaninstitute@mastodon.worldMastodon1d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  2. background

    Texas Supreme Court allows baby to move to California to parents' custody — The Texas Supreme Court issued a ruling allowing the baby to be transferred to California, where Ahmed and Gilkar have medical care lined up. The court stated that 'Sustaining the life of the medically fragile child is the paramount concern in this time-sensitive matter.'

  3. background

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secures order for baby's lifesaving heart surgery — Paxton intervened in the case and obtained a court order requiring the hospital to provide the newborn with necessary lifesaving care. The baby underwent the Norwood procedure, the first in a series of three surgeries typically required in the first years of life for this condition. According to court documents, the newborn was in critical condition following the surgery.

  4. background

    West gives birth to baby in Texas; Ahmed and Gilkar seek custody in California court — West traveled to Texas and gave birth to the baby last month. She named the child Gabriel. Ahmed and Gilkar asked a California state court to confirm their parentage before the birth, and the court agreed, recognizing them as the legal parents. Ahmed and Gilkar named the child Rumi.

  5. background

    Ahmed and Gilkar request West obtain an abortion — After the heart defect diagnosis, the parents invoked the fetal abnormality clause in their surrogacy contract and asked West to terminate the pregnancy. West refused to comply.

  6. background

    Fetal scan reveals hypoplastic left heart syndrome — A 20-week anatomy scan showed the baby had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a severe congenital heart defect that prevents normal blood flow and can quickly become fatal if untreated.

  7. background

    West becomes pregnant with Ahmed and Gilkar's biological child — West, living in Alaska, began her pregnancy with the couple's baby conceived through their surrogacy arrangement.

  8. background

    Ahmed and Gilkar sign surrogacy contract with West in Alaska — The California couple entered into a surrogacy agreement with McKenna West, a cardiac nurse living in Anchorage. The contract included a clause allowing termination if a fetal abnormality was detected.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 2 outlets SCOTUS stays out of thorny surrogacy fight

    first by Courthouse News, 1d ago · also Courthouse News Service

and 2 smaller pieces

What people are saying 1 voices from 1 site · best of 4 · verbatim