Supreme Court Rejects Surrogate's Custody Bid for Infant with Heart Defect
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to intervene in a custody battle concerning a 5-week-old infant born with a severe heart defect. Justice Elena Kagan denied an emergency conservatorship request filed by McKenna West, the surrogate mother. West sought to prevent a California court order that recognized Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar as the child's legal parents. The dispute originated after the fetus was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a life-threatening condition. West claims the intended parents requested an abortion at 23 weeks, which she refused. She subsequently traveled from Alaska to Texas, where abortion is largely banned, to give birth. West, who refers to the baby as Gabriel, expressed concerns that Ahmed and Gilkar, who call the child Rumi, would withhold necessary medical care. The couple denies these allegations, stating that intervention would disrupt critical medical decision-making. The infant has already undergone surgery and may require further procedures or a heart tran...
