The US Supreme Court has declined to intervene in a surrogacy dispute over a seriously ill baby born in Texas, leaving a California couple recognised as the child’s legal parents.
Justice Elena Kagan rejected an emergency application from McKenna West, an Alaska nurse who carried and gave birth to the boy after refusing the couple’s request to end the pregnancy. The decision, issued on Tuesday, 22 September, gave no reasons.
US Supreme Court leaves parental ruling in place
The ruling means a California judgment naming Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed as the child’s parents remains in force, as does a Texas court order enforcing it.
Ms West had sought conservatorship, a legal arrangement that would have allowed her to take part in decisions about the baby’s medical treatment. Her application was dismissed with prejudice, preventing her from bringing the same claim again in that proceeding.
The child was born in Dallas on 12 August with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a life-threatening condition in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped. Babies with the condition generally require a series of operations, beginning shortly after birth.
Ms West refers to the boy as Gabriel, while Ms Gilkar and Mr Ahmed call him Rumi. She has argued that the couple’s earlier request for an abortion meant she could not trust them to provide life-saving treatment.
The couple deny that they intended to withhold necessary care. Their lawyers have said they are committed to treating the child and argued that Ms West’s involvement would create uncertainty over who had authority to make medical decisions.
Rumi underwent surgery soon after his birth. A doctor at Children’s Hospital in Dallas has reportedly told the court that the couple agreed to the recommended treatment, while a court-appointed lawyer supported allowing them to take the baby to Los Angeles for further care.
The Texas Supreme Court has also declined to prevent the parents from moving the child to California, where they live. The US Supreme Court’s decision leaves Ms West without a court order granting her a role in the child’s care.
