(Washington, D.C.): Today, Americans United for Life (AUL) filed an amicus brief in support of an emergency application for administrative stay in M.W. v. Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, N.G., and O.A., urging the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene on behalf of a surrogate single mother from Alaska, known as “M.W.”
After a 20-week ultrasound showed that “Baby G” had hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), M.W. says, the California intended parents asked her to undergo a late-term abortion. She refused and gave birth in Texas in August where Baby G could receive life-saving medical treatment. HLHS is usually fatal without treatment, but staged surgeries can significantly improve the outcome, resulting in a near 100% chance of survival.
In June 2026, a Los Angeles court ruled that the California couple are Baby G’s legal parents, circumventing M.W.’s parental rights. A Texas court subsequently found the California judgment was valid, so it prevented M.W. from being informed about and making medical decisions for Baby G. Earlier this week, M.W. filed an emergency application with the U.S. Supreme Court that challenges that California judgment, citing the urgency of Baby G’s medical condition, need for on-going care, and her fundamental right to direct medical treatment for her child as surrogacy does not “change the legal presumption that the birth mother is the legal mother.”
Carolyn McDonnell, Litigation Counsel for AUL, explained, “Supreme Court caselaw has long recognized that the right to care for one’s child is a fundamental right under the Constitution. It also recognizes that a birth mother is presumptively the legal mother of a child, and the government cannot take away the birth mother’s fundamental right without procedural due process. Yet the California decision terminated M.W.’s parental rights without following procedural safeguards required by the Constitution.”
Sarah Zagorski, Senior Director of Public Relations and Communications for AUL, said, “Americans United for Life commends M.W.’s courage in declining to comply with the couple’s request for a barbaric late-term abortion after learning of their baby’s medical condition and believes it is in Baby G’s best interests for M.W. to be brought into the Texas case to advocate for continued life-saving care.
While this case highlights the bioethical concerns that arise from the commodification of women and children through commercial surrogacy, the Constitution makes clear that birth mothers should never be deprived of their fundamental parental rights without due process of law.”
For more information or to arrange an interview with AUL, contact Gavin Oxley at [email protected] or 202-987-3321.
Since 1971, Americans United for Life (AUL) has advanced the human right to life in culture, law, and policy by equipping advocates and lawmakers with the facts and strategies that change hearts and minds and protect human life. The first national pro-life organization in the country, AUL is a nonprofit, public-interest law and policy organization with a four-star rating from Charity Navigator.
