Surrogate who fled to Texas to avoid abortion appeals custody case to Supreme Court

Surrogate Who Fled to Texas Appeals Custody Case to Supreme Court

Provpnadvice.com – A surrogate who fled to Texas, McKenna West, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in a custody dispute involving a newborn boy with a serious heart condition. West is seeking to pause a California order recognizing the child’s biological parents as his legal parents while her appeal proceeds.

West filed an emergency application challenging the California court’s authority over the case. The dispute combines surrogacy, interstate custody questions, abortion decisions and urgent medical care for an infant diagnosed before birth with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

Pregnancy dispute led to Texas case

West served as a surrogate for Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, a California couple who are the child’s biological parents. Doctors diagnosed the fetus with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a severe congenital condition affecting the development of the left side of the heart.

Ahmed and Gilkar asked West to terminate the pregnancy after learning of the diagnosis, but she declined. The surrogate who fled to Texas later sought custody of the child and authority to participate in decisions about his medical care.

Gilkar told a Texas court that the couple considered abortion after receiving the diagnosis but ultimately decided to continue the pregnancy. West gave birth in Dallas on Aug. 12. She named the boy Gabriel, while Ahmed and Gilkar have called him Rumi.

Medical care is central to the custody fight

The baby underwent the first of several planned procedures shortly after birth. Doctors recommended a three-surgery treatment path for children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, intended to support blood circulation as the child grows.

West’s Supreme Court application argues that continued treatment is medically necessary. Her lawyers say she fears the child could be moved to California and placed in hospice instead of receiving additional surgery; the filing said a transfer could occur as early as Sept. 17.

West’s attorneys are asking the Supreme Court to pause the California judgment while they pursue a challenge to the court’s jurisdiction.

Texas court recognized California parentage order

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened in the case, calling for protection for West and arguing that the infant should receive necessary medical care. A Texas judge ordered the hospital to provide life-saving treatment, appointed a guardian and barred the child from leaving Texas.

On Sept. 1, however, the Texas court recognized a California judgment naming Ahmed and Gilkar as the child’s parents. The court also dismissed West from the Texas case with prejudice, preventing her from bringing the same claim again in that court.

The surrogate who fled to Texas says the ruling left her without access to information about the baby or a role in health-care decisions. Her emergency request does not ask the Supreme Court to make a final custody decision; it seeks temporary relief while the jurisdictional dispute is reviewed.

Texas Surrogacy and Custody FAQ

What is West asking the Supreme Court to do?

West is asking the court to temporarily stop the California judgment from taking effect while her legal team seeks further review. The request focuses on whether the California court had jurisdiction, rather than asking for an immediate final ruling on permanent custody.

Who are the child’s legal parents under the current ruling?

The California judgment recognized Ahmed and Gilkar as the child’s legal parents. They are also the child’s biological parents, while West carried and delivered the baby as a surrogate.

Why is the case being heard in more than one state?

The case involves California-based biological parents, a surrogate who gave birth in Texas and competing court proceedings concerning custody and medical authority. Those circumstances can create difficult questions about which state’s courts have authority to decide the dispute.