Kagan Rejects Bid to Block Custody Transfer in 3-State Surrogacy-Abortion Fight
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 22
Kagan Rejects Bid to Block Custody Transfer in 3-State Surrogacy-Abortion Fight
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 22
Summary
Justice Elena Kagan denied an emergency request to stop a ruling that gave custody of a baby to the biological parents, acting alone without referring the matter to the full Supreme Court.
The surrogate, McKenna West of Alaska, sought intervention after refusing an abortion when the fetus was diagnosed at about 20 weeks with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
West later traveled to Texas and gave birth over the initial objections of the California couple, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, turning the dispute into a closely watched three-state legal battle.
The case has drawn national attention because it sits at the intersection of surrogacy contracts, abortion decisions and parental rights after a severe prenatal diagnosis.