Supreme Court rejects surrogate’s request to have a say in sick baby’s care

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined a request from a surrogate who is fighting for custody of a baby boy who was born with a serious heart defect, steering clear of a complicated legal battle that has become wrapped up in broader national debates over abortion and surrogacy.

McKenna West, an Alaska nurse, carried the child for Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar. When an early scan found hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a life-threatening condition, Ahmed and Gilkar decided to have an abortion. But West declined, traveled to Texas and gave birth.

The case raised wrenching and deeply personal questions and was caught up in broader debates over abortion and surrogacy. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican who is running for the US Senate this year, intervened on behalf of West to secure a court order requiring medical treatment for the baby, but then withdrew from the case.

Despite that, the Supreme Court is generally loath to engage in family disputes, especially when the issues deal largely with state law.

Ahmed and Gilkar say West violated the surrogacy contract and a California court recognized them as the baby’s legal parents. West urged the Supreme Court to step into the legal fight on September 9 and to pause that state court order to give her time to continue fighting in federal court.

Justice Elena Kagan, who handles emergency cases rising from California, denied the request without explanation. Because Kagan did not formally refer the case to the entire court, there were no noted dissents. It’s not clear if Kagan informally polled her colleagues.

The boy, born on August 12, has already undergone one surgery and more are likely.

Without treatment, hypoplastic left heart syndrome can lead to death within days or weeks. Surgery is necessary but will not cure the condition, and additional procedures or a heart transplant may be needed, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ahmed and Gilkar named the boy Rumi. West named the child Gabriel.

West has claimed that Ahmed and Gilkar may not support treatment for the child, telling the Supreme Court that “the child could be removed from the Texas hospital and taken to California for hospice — despite his treatable condition.”

Gilkar and Ahmed have denied refusing care for the child.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

周二，最高法院驳回了一位代孕母亲的请求，该母亲正在争取一名患有严重心脏缺陷的男婴的监护权。最高法院此举避免了一场复杂的法律斗争，这场斗争已经卷入了更广泛的关于堕胎和代孕的全国性辩论中。

阿拉斯加护士麦肯娜·韦斯特为奥马尔·艾哈迈德和瑙欣·吉尔卡代孕。早期扫描发现胎儿患有左心发育不全综合征，这是一种危及生命的疾病，艾哈迈德和吉尔卡决定堕胎。但韦斯特拒绝了，她前往德克萨斯州生下了孩子。

这起案件引发了令人痛心且极其私人的问题，并卷入了关于堕胎和代孕的更广泛辩论中。德克萨斯州总检察长肯·帕克斯顿（Ken Paxton）是共和党人，他今年正在竞选美国参议员。帕克斯顿曾代表韦斯特介入此案，以获得法院命令，要求对婴儿进行医疗救治，但之后他退出了此案。

尽管如此，最高法院通常不愿介入家庭纠纷，尤其是当问题主要涉及州法律时。

艾哈迈德和吉尔卡称韦斯特违反了代孕合同，加州法院已认定他们是孩子的合法父母。9月9日，韦斯特敦促最高法院介入此案，暂停执行州法院的裁决，以便她有时间继续在联邦法院进行诉讼。

负责处理加州紧急案件的大法官埃琳娜·卡根驳回了这一请求，且未作任何解释。由于卡根并未正式将此案提交全体法官审理，因此没有出现任何异议。目前尚不清楚卡根是否曾就此案与同事进行过非正式的沟通。

这名男孩出生于8月12日，已经接受过一次手术，而且可能还需要接受更多手术。

如果不进行治疗，左心发育不全综合征可能在数天或数周内导致死亡。根据美国疾病控制与预防中心的说法，手术是必要的，但无法治愈这种疾病，可能还需要其他治疗或心脏移植。

艾哈迈德和吉尔卡尔给男孩取名为鲁米。韦斯特给孩子取名为加布里埃尔。

韦斯特声称艾哈迈德和吉尔卡可能不会支持对孩子的治疗，并告诉最高法院，“尽管孩子的病情是可以治疗的，但他可能会被从德克萨斯州的医院带走，送到加利福尼亚州接受临终关怀。”

吉尔卡和艾哈迈德否认拒绝照顾这名儿童。

美联社对本报道亦有贡献。