Surrogate who fled to Texas to avoid abortion appeals custody case to Supreme Court

The surrogate who fled to Texas after the unborn child’s biological parents requested she have an abortion is asking the Supreme Court to intervene in the custody battle — which garnered national attention and state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R) intervention .

McKenna West filed an emergency application Wednesday asking the high court to temporarily block a California court order recognizing Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar as the 4-week-old child’s legal parents.

West gave birth to the boy on Aug. 12 in Dallas and named him Gabriel. The California couple, who are the child’s biological parents, instead called him Rumi.

The pair asked West to have an abortion after discovering the then unborn child was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a serious condition in which the left side of the heart is underdeveloped and unable to properly pump blood throughout the body.

The baby’s doctors recommended three after-birth surgeries as the standard treatment for the condition, and he underwent the first of several planned surgeries after his birth, according to the filing.

The custody fight began after doctor’s discovered the condition during the pregnancy. Ahmed and Gilkar asked West to have an abortion, but she refused. West later traveled to Texas, where she sought custody and the ability to make medical decisions for the child.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) intervened in the case , demanding protection for the surrogate mother and arguing the child should receive the medically necessary treatment.

A Texas judge subsequently ordered the hospital to provide life-saving care, appointed a guardian and prohibited the child from being removed from the state.

But on Sept. 1, the Texas court recognized a California judgement establishing Ahmed and Gilkar as the infant’s parents and dismissed West from the case with prejudice, according to her filing. The surrogate says she is now unable to receive information about the child or participate in decisions related to his medical care.

West’s attorneys are asking the Supreme Court to put the California judgment on hold while they seek further review, arguing it lacked jurisdiction.

West also says she fears the child could be taken to California and placed in hospice care instead of receiving additional treatment. Her filing says the child could be moved as soon as Sept. 17.

Ahmed and Gilkar have maintained they are the child’s parents. Gilkar previously told a Texas court the couple considered abortion after learning of the diagnosis but later decided to continue the pregnancy.