Supreme Court stays out of custody dispute between California couple and surrogate
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to intervene in a custody dispute between a California couple and a surrogate mother regarding a child born with a severe heart defect. The case highlights complex legal issues surrounding surrogacy contracts, parental rights, and medical decision-making across state lines.
Why it matters
This case underscores the legal volatility of surrogacy agreements, particularly when medical emergencies and conflicting state laws regarding abortion and parental rights intersect.
Washington — The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to intervene in a custody dispute between a California couple and surrogate who gave birth to a child last month with a rare and serious heart defect.Justice Elena Kagan rejected the emergency appeal from the woman, McKenna West, who had asked the justices to halt a California court order declaring the couple, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, to be the child's parents.Kagan handles emergency appeals arising from California and other states in the region.The legal battle involves a surrogacy contract Gilkar and Ahmed entered into with West, which allowed the couple to demand an abortion for a baby diagnosed with a fetal abnormality, according to court filings.West, who lives in Alaska, became pregnant with a baby boy in December.
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