An Alaska nurse who served as a surrogate mother has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for emergency relief, seeking to prevent biological parents from removing her newborn son from a Texas hospital where he is receiving treatment for a congenital heart defect.

McKenna West gave birth to the boy on August 12. During the pregnancy, at approximately 20 weeks gestation, medical imaging revealed a treatable cardiac condition in the fetus. According to court filings, the biological parents subsequently demanded that West terminate the pregnancy due to the diagnosis. When she refused, they threatened her with financial penalties.

West fled to Texas following the dispute. A lower court recently issued an order granting the biological parents full custody and exclusive authority over medical decisions for the infant. Under this ruling, West has been excluded from the child’s care and decision-making process.

Emergency Appeal Filed

West’s legal team at Alliance Defending Freedom filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court on September 11, 2026. The petition argues that the lower court’s order places the infant’s life in immediate danger because the biological parents have refused to commit to authorizing necessary life-saving interventions.

The lawyers warn that without federal intervention, the child could be transferred from his current hospital in Texas to a hospice facility in California as early as September 17. The petition emphasizes the urgency of the situation, noting that West is currently barred from making critical health decisions for the medically fragile infant she carried.

Legal and Ethical Dimensions

The case highlights complex questions regarding parental rights, surrogate contracts, and the moral status of children with disabilities. The biological parents hold legal custody under current state rulings, but West contends that their refusal to authorize life-sustaining treatment constitutes a failure to protect the child’s welfare.

Catholic social teaching emphasizes the inherent dignity of every human person from conception to natural death. The Church teaches that medical care should preserve life and alleviate suffering, rejecting euthanasia or the withholding of ordinary care for vulnerable individuals. This principle applies particularly to infants with disabilities, who are often among the most marginalized in society.

The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on whether to hear the emergency appeal. If granted, the case could set precedent for how courts balance contractual obligations in surrogacy arrangements against the immediate physical safety of newborns requiring urgent medical attention.