Supreme Court declines to intervene in McKenna West surrogacy custody fight
TheGrio...
The decision leaves in place a ruling recognizing Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar as the child’s legal parents.
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to intervene in the custody battle between surrogate McKenna West and the California couple whose baby she carried, leaving in place a ruling recognizing the couple as the child’s legal parents.
Justice Elena Kagan rejected West’s emergency request Tuesday, ending her latest attempt to gain a role in the custody and medical decisions involving the baby, who was born in Dallas last month with a serious heart condition. Kagan handles emergency matters arising from California and did not provide a written explanation for the decision.
TMZ reported that West had asked the Supreme Court to review the custody dispute after lower courts declined to grant her the authority she was seeking. Her legal challenge followed a breakdown in the surrogacy arrangement after the baby was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a life-threatening condition affecting the normal flow of blood through the heart.
West has said the biological parents, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, asked her to terminate the pregnancy after the diagnosis. She refused and traveled to Texas, where she gave birth to the boy on Aug. 12. West refers to him as Gabriel, while Ahmed and Gilkar call him Rumi.
The California couple subsequently obtained a court order recognizing them as the child’s legal parents. West challenged that determination and raised concerns about the medical care the baby would receive under their authority. Ahmed and Gilkar have rejected those concerns, saying they are committed to providing their son with the treatment he needs.
The baby underwent surgery shortly after birth and remains at the center of the dispute over who has authority to make medical decisions. His condition requires ongoing specialized treatment, according to court filings and medical information cited by news organizations.
Adam Wolf, an attorney for Ahmed and Gilkar, told TMZ the family was grateful that Rumi could continue receiving treatment and that the child would remain with his parents.
West’s Supreme Court request now joins a series of unsuccessful efforts across several courts. The latest decision does not resolve every underlying legal question surrounding surrogacy, parental rights and medical decision-making, but it leaves the existing California parentage ruling in place.