Appeals court ruling delays abortion for immigrant teen in Texas
If no sponsor is found by
The delay means the teen, 15 weeks pregnant and identified only as
In oral arguments before the appeals court Friday morning, a
"The government is refusing to facilitate an abortion, which it is permitted to do," said the lawyer,
But Doe's lawyer argued that government officials are enforcing illegal "veto power" over the teen's decision to exercise her constitutional right to an abortion.
"They are supplanting their decision about what JD should do with her pregnancy, and that is not acting in her best interest," said
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.
Abortion rights advocates blasted Friday's decision.
"The anti-choice
"
On Wednesday, a federal district judge ordered officials with the
At the Trump administration's request, the appeals court halted that order on Thursday to allow time for oral arguments, although Doe was allowed to attend her Thursday pre-abortion counseling session, which under
The Trump administration's lawyer argued Friday 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
"Forcing her to continue an unwanted pregnancy just in the hopes of finding a sponsor that has not been found in the past six weeks sacrifices JD's constitutional liberty, autonomy and personal dignity for no justifiable governmental reason," Millett wrote.
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Appeals court ruling delays abortion for immigrant in Texas
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