Appeals court ruling delays abortion for immigrant in Texas
A federal appeals court gave the Trump administration until
The delay means the teen, identified only as
The 2-1 ruling, issued Friday evening, dissolved a lower court order directing Trump administration officials to allow Doe to have an abortion.
If no sponsor is found by
Earlier: The government's interest in promoting childbirth over abortion allows federal officials to avoid any actions that would allow a 17-year-old immigrant, in federal custody in
"The government is refusing to facilitate an abortion, which it is permitted to do,"
But lawyers for the teen, identified only as
"They are supplanting their decision about what JD should do with her pregnancy, and that is not acting in her best interest," said
"Really, what we are talking about is a ban on abortion for JD, which the (Supreme) Court has said you cannot -- no matter how much of an interest the government has in potential life -- you cannot act on that interest to ban abortion for anyone," she said.
The appeals court judges promised to rule quickly on whether Doe can have an abortion while in government custody, acknowledging that at 15 weeks pregnant she had entered the second trimester, when complication risks rise, during a three-week legal battle over her requested abortion.
If allowed, the abortion would be paid for with private money, the
Doe's case has drawn national attention, serving as a proxy battle over two hot-button issues -- the right to abortion and federal immigration policy. Acknowledging the added interest in the case, the appeals court for the first time allowed arguments to be streamed live on its website.
On Wednesday, a federal district judge ordered officials with the
Arguments were lively and wide-ranging, with the judges -- two appointed by Republican presidents and one by a Democrat -- asking numerous questions in a session that ended after 90 minutes, an hour longer than scheduled.
The Trump administration's lawyer argued that federal officials were not standing in Doe's way by failing to "facilitate" her access to abortion because she has two options for leaving federal custody -- she could voluntarily leave the country, or she could be placed with a sponsor, typically a relative, who is already in
"The government is not preventing, blocking or imposing any (impermissible) obstacle on
Justice
Lawyers on both sides, however, could not answer whether a sponsor could be found quickly enough, although the
Justice
Kavanaugh also raised questions about the two options available to Doe, noting that she has no control over who the government chooses for a sponsor, and that by voluntarily leaving the country, she would be waiving her right to challenge deportation in the future.
Amiri, the
"The
Dorsey also noted that the teen's home country -- which has not been identified because it's part of the case's sealed records, along with the
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Appeals court ruling delays abortion for immigrant teen in Texas
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