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Surrogate who refused abortion over heart defect takes custody battle to US Supreme Court

September 11, 2026

A surrogate mother, McKenna West, has filed an emergency appeal with the US Supreme Court seeking to prevent a California couple, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, from gaining custody of a baby she carried for them. The couple requested West terminate the pregnancy after a 20-week scan revealed the fetus had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a severe cardiac condition, but West refused and instead traveled to Texas, where abortion is largely prohibited, to give birth. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened to ensure the infant received medical treatment in Texas, and the baby underwent surgery shortly after birth.

Who is affected

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

What action is being taken

  • West is asking the US Supreme Court to halt the California court ruling granting parental rights to Ahmed and Gilkar
  • A Texas court restraining order is currently blocking West from seeing the baby
  • The baby is receiving medical treatment (previously underwent surgery after birth)

Why it matters

  • This case raises fundamental legal and ethical questions about parental rights, surrogacy agreements, and reproductive autonomy. It highlights conflicts between state abortion laws and surrogacy contracts, and examines whether surrogate mothers can override biological parents' decisions about pregnancy termination. The case also involves tensions between California and Texas law, and sets potential precedents for how courts balance the rights of surrogates, intended parents, and children born through assisted reproduction, particularly when medical complications arise.

What's next

  • No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: BBC