The surrogate who refused an abortion sought by the biological parents has filed an updated brief with the U.S. Supreme Court following an emergency application she filed with the court last week, arguing the case is moving more quickly than expected.
McKenna West, an Alaska resident, and a California couple referred to as the commissioning parties, have been involved in a legal battle after she refused their request to terminate the pregnancy after a diagnosis of a serious heart condition, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS).
Represented by attorneys from Alliance Defending Freedom and First & Fourteenth PLLC, West asked Justice Elena Kagan, who handles emergency matters from the Ninth Circuit, for an administrative stay and a stay pending a possible petition for certiorari.
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Her application argues that the California courts violated federal due process by treating her jurisdictional defense as consent. It also argues that without a stay, the baby could be moved to California for hospice care while West remains unable to participate in decisions about the child’s medical treatment.
But on Monday, the surrogate and her team expressed fears that the baby may be moved out of Texas earlier than she had expected.
She is asking the high court for an administrative stay 1 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday.
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This comes after a California court judgment that declared the commissioning parents the child’s legal parents and denied West’s custody claims.
The commissioning parents have argued in court that California has jurisdiction under the surrogacy agreement and that they are the child’s legal parents.
West had refused the commissioning parents’ request for an abortion and traveled to Texas, which has abortion restrictions, to give birth, saying she did so to ensure access to specialized medical care.
She asked for parentage and protective orders in Alaska and Texas, but the commissioning parents filed a parentage action in the Los Angeles Superior Court, according to Fox 4. West entered a special appearance to contest personal jurisdiction and object to the forum, citing a forum-selection clause that required litigation to be held in Alaska.
But the California trial court ruled that West’s jurisdictional arguments and attached exhibits constituted a general appearance, meaning she had consented to the court’s jurisdiction, the outlet reported. The court then entered an ex parte judgment of parentage in favor of the commissioning parents.
After the baby was born in Texas on Aug. 12, a Texas court recognized the California ruling naming the commissioning couple as his legal parents and dismissed West from the case with prejudice, meaning she could not refile the same claim in that proceeding.