Supreme Court declines surrogate mother's emergency custody bid

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review an emergency request from McKenna West, a surrogate mother seeking custody of a baby boy she gave birth to in Dallas, Texas. Justice Elena Kagan rejected the request without providing a specific reason.

The legal dispute began after doctors diagnosed the infant with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a serious heart condition. West alleges that the intended parents, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, requested she terminate the pregnancy following the diagnosis, a request she refused.

While West sought to have a role in the child's medical decision-making, courts in California and Texas have upheld the parental rights of Ahmed and Gilkar. The intended parents have stated they are committed to providing the necessary life-saving medical treatments for the child, whom they call Rumi. West, who refers to the child as Gabriel, has faced legal restrictions, including a restraining order preventing her from seeing or holding the infant.