Surrogate asks Supreme Court to intervene in custody dispute over baby with heart defect
McKenna West, a surrogate, filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court on September 9, 2026, seeking to halt a California court order recognizing the intended parents as the child's legal parents. West refused the couple's request to abort the pregnancy at 23 weeks after the fetus was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, and she argues the couple will not provide life-saving care. The intended parents, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, deny withholding care and say West violated the surrogacy contract.
3
Divergence score
4 outlets covered it, splitting into 4 framing camps across 2 bias groups.
4 camps
2 bias groups
The spectrum · how 4 outlets placed this story
LeftCenterRight
CBS News
CNN
Washington Times
NY Post
Supportive of action
Neutral
Dismissive
Critical
Alarmist
International angle
Widest split · the two outlets furthest apart, and who published first
First to report
- CNNfirst
- Washington Times+5.6 h
- CBS News+9.7 h
- NY Post+14.2 h
By each outlet's earliest publish time in this story. Feeds that index slowly can appear later than they printed.
The split, in one line
Three outlets ran near-identical wire copy with the same facts and quotes; CBS adds hearing testimony and expert context the others omit, while the NY Post ran only a truncated lead.
How each outlet covered it
Broad agreement on what happened
Outlets across the spectrum land in roughly the same place: the shared language is highlighted.
THE LEFT
“Surrogate appeals to Supreme Court in custody dispute over baby with heart defect”CBS CBS News LEFT-CENTER
3LOW DIVERGENCE
THE RIGHT
“Surrogate asks the Supreme Court to intervene over care for a sick baby”WT Washington Times RIGHT
+Hide the full sourcingSee how all 4 outlets put it
8 tracked claims across 4 outlets
Fact ledger
All8Claimed3Corroborated5
1/4
Claimed
Gilkar testified that West never told them she was traveling to Texas and withdrew access to medical records
Corroborated
Disputed
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