US Supreme Court Declines to Intervene in Custody Dispute Over Baby Born to Surrogate
WASHINGTON — September 23, 2026

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to intervene in a highly unusual custody dispute involving a surrogate mother, a California couple and a newborn baby with a serious heart condition.

Justice Elena Kagan on Tuesday rejected an emergency appeal from McKenna West, an Alaska woman who served as a surrogate for Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar of California. The decision leaves in place a California court order recognizing Ahmed and Gilkar as the baby’s legal parents.

Dispute Began During Pregnancy
West became pregnant in December through a surrogacy arrangement with the California couple.

At a 20-week medical scan in April, doctors discovered that the fetus had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare and serious heart defect that affects the heart’s ability to pump blood normally.

According to court documents, Ahmed and Gilkar then asked West to terminate the pregnancy under a provision in their surrogacy agreement concerning fetal abnormalities.

West refused.

She later traveled from Alaska to Texas, where she gave birth to the baby in August. West calls the child Gabriel, while the California couple calls him Rumi.

Baby Underwent Emergency Surgery
The newborn required medical treatment shortly after birth because of his heart condition.

A Texas court ordered that the baby receive life-saving medical care. He underwent a Norwood procedure, an operation commonly used as the first stage of treatment for infants with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

The condition can require several major operations during childhood and may involve long-term health complications.

Surrogate Sought Custody
West later asked courts to give her custody or conservatorship of the child.

Her lawyers argued that she should be able to make medical decisions for the baby because she believed the California couple might not provide the treatment he needs.

The couple strongly rejected that argument.

Their lawyers told the Supreme Court that they had remained with their child in hospital and were committed to providing him with medical care for the rest of his life.

Supreme Court Declines Emergency Appeal
West asked the Supreme Court to halt the California order recognizing Ahmed and Gilkar as the child’s legal parents.

Justice Kagan rejected the emergency request without giving a detailed explanation, a common practice for emergency applications handled by an individual justice.

The ruling does not resolve every aspect of the broader custody dispute, but it means the California parentage order remains in effect for now.

Case Draws National Attention
The dispute has attracted widespread attention because it combines questions surrounding surrogacy, parental rights, medical decision-making and abortion.

The case has also highlighted the complicated legal issues that can arise when a surrogacy agreement conflicts with a surrogate’s decisions during pregnancy.

For now, the central issue remains the future care and legal status of the medically fragile infant while courts continue to address the dispute.

Sources: BBC News; Associated Press; CBS News; The Guardian.