Supreme Court Justice Kagan Signals No Immediate Relief in Surrogate Custody Battle Over Critically Ill Baby
Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan has indicated that the high court will not grant urgent relief in an emergency appeal filed by McKenna West, a surrogate mother involved in a custody dispute over a newborn with a severe heart defect. West is seeking to block a California ruling, upheld by a Texas court, that grants custody of the baby to the biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed. Justice Kagan, who handles emergency litigation from California, has requested the opposing side to respond to the application by 4 p.m. ET on September 18. The Supreme Court is not expected to act on the application until after this response is received. The baby, born on August 12 in Texas, has hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare congenital heart condition. West alleges that the biological parents pressured her to abort the fetus after the diagnosis and that she should have final custody to ensure the baby receives life-saving care. The biological parents, Gilkar and Ahmed, maintain that West is attempting to t...
