Surrogate who fled to Texas to avoid abortion appeals custody case to Supreme Court

McKenna West, a gestational surrogate who left for Texas after the unborn child’s biological parents asked her to terminate the pregnancy, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step into a contentious custody dispute. West filed an emergency application with the high court on Wednesday seeking immediate judicial attention.

The case has attracted national attention as parties and advocates have weighed in, and it prompted intervention from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican. The involvement of a state attorney general has raised the profile of the proceedings and drawn wider public scrutiny.

West’s emergency filing asks the Supreme Court for urgent relief while lower-court litigation continues. Details of the specific relief sought were included in the application filed Wednesday.

The matter centers on conflicting claims over the unborn child between West, the surrogate, and the child’s biological parents, and it has become a focal point for broader legal and ethical debates surrounding surrogacy, abortion, and custody. With the case now before the nation’s highest court, its outcome could have significant implications for how similar disputes are handled in the future.