Supreme Court Declines to Intervene in Surrogate Custody Battle
Justice Elena Kagan denied an emergency appeal from a surrogate seeking conservatorship of a baby born in Texas after she refused the couple's request for an abortion.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to intervene in a custody dispute over a five-week-old boy born in Texas after a surrogate refused a California couple's request that she terminate the pregnancy.
Justice Elena Kagan denied the emergency request from McKenna West, who gave birth to the child in Dallas and is seeking conservatorship. Kagan handles appeals arising from California, and the brief order offered no explanation, as is customary in emergency applications.
West has repeatedly been turned away by lower courts in her effort to gain a voice in the child's medical treatment. The infant was born on August 12 with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a life-threatening condition that restricts normal blood flow to the heart. He underwent surgery shortly after birth.
At the center of the dispute is a California court order recognizing Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar as the child's parents. West refers to the boy as Gabriel; the couple call him Rumi. She asked the Supreme Court to halt that order.
Lawyers for Ahmed and Gilkar urged the justices to reject the request, arguing that intervention would add to an already chaotic situation and questioning what it would accomplish for medical decision-making. They also contended that West has overstated the prognosis for children with the heart condition, warning that "such chaos would be devastating for Respondents and, most importantly, their child."
The case has drawn support from Republican officeholders and anti-abortion groups. West has said she believes the couple will not pursue life-saving care, pointing to their request for an abortion at 23 weeks. Ahmed and Gilkar have denied that claim.
According to the CDC, children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome can die within days or weeks without treatment. Surgical repairs are not necessarily cures, and further operations or a heart transplant may be required. The couple's attorney said in August that the newborn had been in critical condition and appeared to be suffering from potential complications.