Justice Elena Kagan on Tuesday rejected a request for the Supreme Court to get involved in the case of a surrogate enmeshed in a multistate custody battle with California parents who at one point asked her to abort the fetus because of a heart defect.
asserted
who → reject → defect
McKenna West gave birth to the couple’s baby in Texas last month and argued in court there that California denied her due process when it awarded custody of the child, whom she named Gabriel, to his genetic parents.
asserted
she → give → parents
A Texas judge dismissed her claims.
uncertain
judge → dismiss → claims
She then appealed to the Supreme Court.
asserted
She → appeal → Court
Kagan denied to issue a stay in the case in a Tuesday order with no written decision.
asserted
Kagan → deny → decision
In a filing earlier this month, attorneys for West urged Kagan, who handles emergency matters involving California, to intervene because a “life hangs in the balance.”
asserted
life → urge → balance
They said West is concerned that Gabriel might not get the medical care he needs if he remains in the custody of his parents, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar.
uncertain
he → say → parents
Gilkar told a judge in Dallas last month that she and her husband were dedicated to getting the son they named Rumi the help he requires — and that the “unstable” West is making an already tragic situation more fraught.
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situation → tell → help
“She’s making us run from doctor to doctor, state to state with our baby.
asserted
us → make → baby
She’s trying to take him,” Gilkar testified.
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Gilkar → try → him
The Texas Supreme Court issued a ruling last week allowing the baby to be moved to California, where the parents have medical care for the child lined up, the Texas Tribune reported.
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Tribune → issue → child
“Sustaining the life of the medically fragile child is the paramount concern in this time-sensitive matter,” the ruling said.
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ruling → sustain → matter
The baby was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a congenital defect in which one side of the organ is underdeveloped, preventing normal blood flow.
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side → bear → flow
The condition can quickly become fatal if it is left untreated.
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it → become → ?
According to court documents obtained last month by The Associated Press, the newborn was in critical condition and “suffering from potential complications” following heart surgery in Texas.
uncertain
newborn → accord → Texas
The parents had turned to surrogacy after efforts involving in vitro fertilization treatments failed.
asserted
efforts → turn → treatments
They signed a contract in August 2025 with West — a cardiac nurse who was living in Anchorage, Alaska — that included a clause stipulating the pregnancy could be terminated if there was a “fetal abnormality.”
uncertain
pregnancy → sign → clause
West said the parents tried to invoke the clause after the heart defect was diagnosed, but she refused to comply.
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she → say → clause
She ultimately headed to Texas, where her case was championed by state Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat this fall.
asserted
case → head → seat
With Paxton’s assistance, West got an order directing that the newborn get necessary lifesaving care in Texas after he was born.
asserted
he → get → Texas
The parents had planned for him to get that care in their native California.
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him → plan → California
Judges in Alaska and Texas ultimately deferred to the California ruling, according to West’s Supreme Court filing.
uncertain
Judges → defer → filing
West alleges that Ahmed and Gilkar violated their surrogacy agreement by seeking custody in California.
asserted
Ahmed → allege → California
She said the agreement had called for any legal challenges to be heard in Alaska.
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challenges → say → Alaska
West contended that the California decision should be tossed out because she did not get proper due process, and she said she is being kept in the dark about the baby’s health.
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she → contend → health
In a court filing, West said that “without relief, she will receive no further information about the child she carried for 37 weeks and fought to save.”
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she → say → weeks
The parents’ attorney said that they are focused on the baby’s health and that West is engaged in “political theater.”
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West → say → theater
The Aporia
