Justice Elena Kagan rejects an emergency appeal in a case involving a California couple, an Alaska surrogate and a medically fragile newborn.

WASHINGTON — September 23, 2026 — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to intervene in a custody dispute involving a California couple and their surrogate, leaving a lower-court ruling recognizing the couple as the legal parents of the newborn in place for now.

Justice Elena Kagan rejected an emergency request from McKenna West, the Alaska woman who served as the couple's surrogate. The Supreme Court's brief order did not provide a detailed explanation for the decision.

The baby was born in Dallas on August 12 with a life-threatening heart condition. The legal dispute began after the California couple, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, asked West to terminate the pregnancy following the diagnosis. West refused and later sought a role in decisions concerning the child's custody and medical care.

A California court previously recognized Ahmed and Gilkar as the child's legal parents, while West challenged that ruling and sought intervention from courts in several states.

The Supreme Court's decision leaves the existing California parentage ruling in effect while the broader legal dispute continues. The case has attracted attention because it involves surrogacy agreements, parental rights, abortion and interstate jurisdiction.