Supreme Court declines to intervene in surrogacy custody dispute
–
Neutral summary
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to intervene in a custody dispute over a five-week-old baby born to a surrogate who refused an abortion. Justice Elena Kagan on September 22 rejected an emergency request from McKenna West to block a California court order recognizing Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar as the child's legal parents. West claimed the couple asked her to terminate the pregnancy after a fetal diagnosis of hypoplastic left heart syndrome, but she refused and moved to Texas, where she gave birth on August 12. The baby, whom West calls Gabriel and the couple call Rumi, underwent heart surgery shortly after birth and was transferred to Los Angeles for treatment. The dispute between the surrogate and the biological parents spanned several months and drew national attention. NBC News, CBS News, The New York Times, The Independent, The Hill, Clarín, New York Post, and O Globo all reported the court's refusal to intervene, with The Hill and O Globo specifying that Justice Kagan made the decision. Wired, in a separate article, profiles Emma Waters, an activist against fertility technology, but that piece is not directly related to this case.
How it was framed
Outlets: 10. Countries: 4. Facts in the shared core: 5.
Publication timeline
-
·
NBC News (outlet profile)
Supreme Court declines to intervene in custody case involving newborn with heart condition. The Supreme Court declined to get involved in the case of a surrogate enmeshed in a multistate custody battle with California p…
-
·
CBS News (outlet profile)
Supreme Court stays out of custody dispute between California couple and surrogate. Justice Elena Kagan declined a request from a surrogate to intervene in a custody dispute with a California couple.
-
·
The New York Times (outlet profile)
Supreme Court Declines to Intervene in Custody Fight Over Surrogacy and Abortion. A surrogate refused to have an abortion after the fetus was diagnosed with a serious heart problem. She asked the justices to block a cou…
-
·
The Independent (outlet profile)
US Supreme Court won’t intervene in custody dispute between California couple and surrogate. The U.S. Supreme Court won't intervene in a custody dispute over a 5-week-old child who was born in Texas after a surrogate re…
-
·
The Hill (outlet profile)
Kagan steers Supreme Court clear of high-profile surrogacy fight. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan declined a surrogate’s emergency bid on Tuesday to intervene in her custody fight that drew national attention after th…
-
·
Clarín (outlet profile)
La Corte Suprema de EE.UU. rechaza intervenir en disputa por bebé de vientre subrogado. El máximo tribunal de EE.UU. no intervendrá en un caso de custodia relacionado con gestación subrogada y un conflicto sobre aborto.…
-
·
New York Post (outlet profile)
US Supreme Court rejects surrogate McKenna West’s bid for custody intervention. The US Supreme Court denied surrogate McKenna West’s emergency plea to intervene in a multi-state custody battle over 5-week-old Rumi.
-
·
Wired (outlet profile)
She’s 28, Loves God and Her Family, and Might Be the Reason You Can’t Have Kids. No IVF. No surrogacy. No polygenic tests. Emma Waters is leading a national fight against fertility tech—with her hot husband’s permission…
-
·
O Globo (outlet profile)
Após recusar aborto, barriga de aluguel perde última tentativa de obter guarda de bebê com cardiopatia nos EUA. A Suprema Corte dos Estados Unidos rejeitou o pedido de emergência apresentado pela barriga de aluguel McKe…
-
·
Fox News (outlet profile)
Supreme Court declines to intervene in case of surrogate mother who refused abortion. McKenna West's surrogacy custody fight over a baby with hypoplastic left heart syndrome hit the Supreme Court after she fled to…
Factual core
- The custody dispute is between a California couple and the surrogate.
- The biological parents are a couple who had a surrogacy agreement with McKenna West.
- The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in a custody dispute involving a surrogate baby.
- The US Supreme Court rejected an emergency request by surrogate McKenna West to gain custody of a five-week-old baby with a serious heart condition.
- A baby with a heart defect was transferred to Los Angeles for treatment.