Supreme Court stays out of custody case involving surrogate who refused abortion

September 22, 2026

The US Supreme Court declined to intervene in a custody dispute between a surrogate mother and the biological parents who hired her. After a 20-week scan revealed the fetus had a severe heart defect, the California parents requested an abortion, but surrogate McKenna West refused and traveled to Texas, where abortion restrictions are strict, to give birth. The baby was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and has undergone surgery in Texas under a court order secured by the state's Attorney General.

Who is affected

McKenna West (the surrogate mother)
Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar (the biological parents from California)
The baby boy named Rumi, born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (who intervened in the case)
Republican officials supporting West

What action is being taken

The California court is granting parental rights to Ahmed and Gilkar
A Texas court restraining order is blocking West from seeing the baby
The baby is receiving medical care and treatment in Texas

Why it matters

This case highlights the complex intersection of surrogacy contracts, abortion rights, parental rights, and state-level abortion laws in the post-Roe era. It raises critical questions about who has decision-making authority during a surrogate pregnancy when medical complications arise, and demonstrates how differing state abortion laws can create jurisdictional conflicts in reproductive cases.

What's next

No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: BBC