McKenna West, a surrogate, asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to intervene in a custody dispute over a baby born with a severe heart defect, challenging a California court's decision to grant parental rights to biological parents Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar.
Ahmed and Gilkar requested West terminate the pregnancy after a 20-week scan revealed hypoplastic left heart syndrome—a condition in which the left side of the heart cannot pump enough blood to the body. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the condition often requires multiple surgeries and can lead to lifelong complications.
West refused and traveled to Texas, where nearly all abortions are illegal, to give birth last month. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, intervened after her arrival, securing an emergency court order requiring the boy receive medical care in Texas. The child underwent surgery shortly after birth.
In her Supreme Court filing, West said she rejected the abortion request after learning of treatment options and decided to keep the baby. She argues Ahmed and Gilkar should not have custody, citing their initial desire to abort the child and expressing concern they would not provide necessary medical care.
Gilkar said the baby, whom they named Rumi, was "our child and the love of our lives." She also said West traveled to Texas without their knowledge and blocked access to the baby's medical information.
A California court granted parental rights to Ahmed and Gilkar. A Texas court separately issued a restraining order preventing West from seeing the baby. West has since sought custody.
An attorney for the California couple reported last month that the child was in critical condition with "potential complications." West's lawyers suggested in the Supreme Court filing that the couple might pursue hospice care.
West argues that without Supreme Court intervention, she will lose access to medical information about the child's condition. Several Republican officials have backed her legal efforts.
