Court Grants HHS Time To Release Pregnant Girl So She Can Obtain An Abortion Outside Its Custody
The court blocked an earlier ruling to allow the girl to get an abortion immediately. Now the government has 11 days to release the girl into outside custody, or the matter will return to the courts.
The Associated Press:
DC Court Blocks For Now Immigrant Teen's Access To Abortion
A Washington appeals court is blocking for now an abortion sought by a pregnant 17-year-old immigrant being held in a Texas facility, ruling Friday that the government should be given time to try to release her so she can obtain the abortion outside of its custody. (10/20)
The New York Times:
Undocumented 17-Year-Old Must Delay Abortion, Court Rules
The decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit could put her health at risk, doctors say, especially now that she is about 15 weeks pregnant. “While first-trimester abortion is over 10 times safer than childbirth, the risks gradually increase in the second trimester to those of childbirth,” Dr. Nancy L. Stanwood, the chief of family planning at the Yale School of Medicine, said in an email. Forcing her to wait, she added, “harms her physical health, period.” (Caron, 10/21)