Illegal immigrant teen has abortion in Texas after weeks-long legal battle
A 17-year-old pregnant girl who crossed illegally into the U.S. had obtained an abortion in Texas on Wednesday after weeks of legal battle in state and federal courts.
The Trump administration had sought to prevent the teenager from having an abortion, saying it has a new policy of refusing to facilitate the procedure for unaccompanied minors taken into federal custody after crossing the border illegally.
In a 6–3 ruling on Tuesday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the teenager could proceed with the abortion. The appeals court had overturned its Friday decision to put a hold on the case until Oct. 31 and ruled that the girl must be taken to an abortion clinic rather than a crisis pregnancy center.
The court had temporarily blocked a lower court ruling last week that would have allowed the immigrant to obtain the procedure earlier.
Tuesday's ruling came after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed an emergency petition on Sunday, asking the court to reconsider delaying its Friday decision to postpone a final ruling on the pregnant illegal immigrant's case.
The girl, who was only identified as Jane Doe in court documents, was more than 15 weeks pregnant when she obtained the procedure.
Under Texas law, women seeking abortions are required to undergo counseling from a doctor at least 24 hours in advance of an abortion, but the pregnant teen had already gone through counseling on Oct. 19.
"People I don't even know are trying to make me change my mind," Doe said in a statement from the ACLU, as reported by NPR.
"I made my decision and that is between me and God. Through all of this, I have never changed my mind," she added.
Federal and state officials have contended that Doe had no inherent right to an elective abortion in the U.S. due to her immigration status.
After entering the U.S. without a guardian, Doe came under the official custody of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and was held in a detention center in Brownsville, Texas.
Doe stated that during the weeks that she was prevented from having an abortion, government agencies "forced me to obtain counseling from a religiously affiliated crisis pregnancy center where I was forced to look at the sonogram."
The Justice Department has drawn criticism for its failure to appeal the case to the Supreme Court in time to halt the abortion.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had stated that he and 11 other Republican state attorneys were prepared to file a legal brief with the high court to help defend the government's position on the case.
"This ruling not only cost a life, it could pave the way for anyone outside the United States to unlawfully enter and obtain an abortion," Paxton said in a statement.