US Supreme Court won't intervene in custody dispute between California couple, surrogate

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to intervene in a custody dispute over a 5-week-old child who was born in Texas after a surrogate refused a California couple's wishes to have an abortion. Justice Elena Kagan denied the request from McKenna West , who was seeking conservatorship over a baby boy she gave birth to in Dallas. The brief order did not detail the legal reasoning, as is typical in emergency appeals.

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Scoop News DeskUs · Published Wednesday, September 23, 2026 at 12:29 AM UTCUpdated Wednesday, September 23, 2026 at 12:52 AM UTC

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West had asked the Supreme Court to halt a California court order that recognizes Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar as the parents of the child whom she calls Gabriel and they call Rumi. "We are truly grateful that Rumi can continue receiving the treatment he needs to survive, and that he will not be stripped away from what has been described by doctors as the excellent care of his parents," Adam Wolf, an attorney for the couple, said in a statement.