The surrogate mother says the biological parents previously pressured her to abort the child and hold full medical authority under a lower‑court order, prompting her emergency appeal.
A surrogate mother filed an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to ensure a newborn baby will have access to lifesaving treatment for a heart condition amid her concerns that the biological parents may not continue treatment.
McKenna West, an Alaska nurse and surrogate mother, gave birth to the baby boy on Aug. 12. She is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block a court order that recognized the boy’s biological parents as having full custody and being the authority in medical decisions.
The unborn child was diagnosed with a treatable heart defect at about 20 weeks into pregnancy. His biological parents demanded West abort the child because of the defect and threatened her with financial penalties if she did not, according to the petition filed by West’s lawyers at Alliance Defending Freedom.
West refused and fled to Texas because the state’s pro-life laws prohibit most abortions. The boy is receiving lifesaving medical treatment at this time due to a court order in Texas. However, the petition states the biological parents “refused to commit to authorizing any life-saving care” for as long as needed to treat the condition.
“Since [West] is now completely excluded from the life of the medically fragile infant she brought into the world, much less from the ability to make critical health decisions that protect him, time is of the essence,” the petition states.
The petition warns that without immediate Supreme Court action, “the child could be removed from the Texas hospital and taken to California for hospice — despite his treatable condition — around September 17, if not sooner.”
“Relief is all the more warranted here, given that the stakes involve the child’s life,” the petition adds.