Surrogate Seeks Supreme Court Intervention in Custody Battle Over Infant with Heart Defect

A California couple’s surrogate, who declined their request for an abortion, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step into a custody dispute concerning their four-week-old son, who was born with a critical cardiac condition.

McKenna West filed an emergency appeal on Wednesday, seeking to block a California court order that recognizes Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar as the child’s legal parents. West, a nurse residing in Alaska, traveled to Dallas to deliver the baby in August, navigating a legal landscape where most abortions are prohibited.

The infant, known to West as Gabriel and to the commissioning parents as Rumi, was delivered on August 12 with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. This life-threatening anomaly restricts normal blood flow through the heart. West is requesting final custody or conservatorship, arguing that Ahmed and Gilkar will withhold lifesaving medical treatment due to their prior demand for an abortion at 23 weeks of gestation.

The case has drawn attention from Republican officials and anti-abortion organizations. Shortly before the birth, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office secured an emergency court order mandating that the boy receive immediate medical care.

“It was frightening to consider that something might be wrong, and that I might be stripped of the authority to decide on his treatment,” West told Live Action, an anti-abortion advocacy group, in a recent interview. Following his delivery, the boy underwent surgery. The couple’s attorney, Lee Budner, stated in August that the newborn was in critical condition and potentially facing complications.

The conflict highlights significant gaps in federal surrogacy regulation, leaving oversight to individual states with varying laws. The Supreme Court is not required to hear the case, and legal experts suggest the odds of granting relief are slim.

Marla Neufeld, an attorney who represents surrogates and intended parents but is not involved in this matter, noted that emergency relief is exceptionally difficult to obtain and that the Court typically avoids intervening in family disputes.

Despite this, West’s lawyers argued in their filing that the stakes are immense. They contend that a prior California judgment unlawfully barred West from Texas proceedings, denying her access to information or control over the medically fragile child.

During an August 25 hearing in Dallas, Gilkar described West as “mentally unstable” and accused her of attempting to seize the baby. Gilkar revealed that she and Ahmed had requested termination in May after diagnosing the heart defect. West countered by offering to relinquish custody claims if the couple committed to the infant’s surgical treatment.

Gilkar denied allegations that the couple would deny care, stating, “We are devastated… We have never wanted anything more than these babies.” However, West asserts that the couple intends to place the child in hospice care in California rather than proceed with surgeries.

Without intervention, hypoplastic left heart syndrome can be fatal within days or weeks. The CDC notes that while surgical repairs are not cures, they are essential. The Cleveland Clinic indicates the child will require additional procedures between 4 and 6 months of age, and again between 18 months and 4 years.

Texas courts recently granted full credit to the California judgment on September 2, further complicating West’s efforts. The couple has refused to provide West with updates on the child’s condition, and the case file remains sealed.