Surrogate appeals to Supreme Court in custody dispute over baby born in Texas with heart defect

September 10, 2026 / 6:56 PM EDT / CBS/AP

A California couple's surrogate who refused their wishes to have an abortion has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in a custody dispute over the 4-week-old child, who was born with a serious heart defect.

McKenna West filed the emergency appeal Wednesday amid a legal battle over surrogacy and abortion that has won the support of Republican officeholders and anti-abortion groups. West, a nurse who lives in Alaska, traveled to Dallas to give birth in August. Most abortions are banned in Texas.

West is asking the nation's highest court to halt a California court order that recognizes Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar as the parents of the child whom she calls Gabriel, and they call Rumi.

West wants final custody or conservatorship because she believes the couple will not provide lifesaving care, citing their request for an abortion at 23 weeks.

The boy was born Aug. 12 with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a life-threatening condition that prevents normal blood flow to the organ.

Just before his birth, the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton intervened in the case and obtained an emergency court order requiring that the boy receive…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/healthwatch/