Supreme Court justice declines to hear surrogacy custody case involving Los Angeles couple
WASHINGTON -- A U.S. Supreme Court justice has rejected a request to take up a custody dispute involving a baby born through a surrogacy arrangement, allowing lower court rulings in favor of a Los Angeles couple to stand.
Justice Elena Kagan on Tuesday rejected surrogate McKenna West's request for the nation's highest court to hear the case. West appealed after losing legal battles in courts in California and Texas.
Lower courts determined that the child, who is genetically related to the Los Angeles couple who hired West as a surrogate, belongs to the California couple rather than West.
MORE COVERAGE: LA couple's surrogate gives birth in Texas amid legal battle
The legal dispute intensified after West moved from Alaska to Texas to give birth after the couple sought to terminate the pregnancy when it was learned the fetus had a heart defect. West later gave birth to the boy and called him Gabriel. His biological parents, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, named him Rumi.
In a statement, the couple's legal team said, "We are grateful that Rumi can continue receiving the treatment he needs to survive... Ms. West's legal filings across three states, numerous courts of appeals, and now the U.S. Supreme Court have sought to undermine Rumi's parents' right to provide him with the care he needs."
The latest development follows a Texas Supreme Court ruling last week that Rumi can be moved to California. The child suffers from a syndrome that leaves part of his heart underdeveloped and can be fatal.
