Federal Judge Rules Undocumented Pregnant Girl Can Get An Abortion
Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the government to move "promptly and without delay." The administration is appealing the ruling.
The Associated Press:
Judge Orders Government To Allow Abortion For Immigrant Teen
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the government to allow a pregnant 17-year-old immigrant, who was detained after entering the country illegally, to undergo an abortion. After a brief hearing that included a testy exchange with government lawyers, Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the government to move "promptly and without delay" to transport the teenager or allow her to be transported by others to the nearest abortion provider. (10/18)
The Washington Post:
Federal Judge Bars Govenrment From Blocking Abortion For Jane Doe, Undocumented Teen Immigrant
Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the pregnant teen, cheered the judge’s ruling as a major victory for abortion and immigrant rights. “We never should have had to fight this in the first place,” said Brigitte Amiri, a senior ACLU staff attorney who argued the case on Wednesday. “It should never have been something that we needed to go to court over.” (Sacchetti, 10/18)
Los Angeles Times:
Judge Rules Detained Teenage Immigrant Must Be Allowed To Have An Abortion
At a hearing Wednesday, a lawyer for Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions had suggested that because the woman was not legally a U.S. resident, she was not covered by the constitutional right to end her pregnancy. U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan rebuked the government lawyers at the hearing. Her order directs officials to transport Jane Doe to the clinic of her choice and allow her to obtain an abortion by Saturday. (Lauter, 10/18)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Court Overrules U.S. Abortion Ban For Undocumented Teen In Custody
Trump administration officials must allow a pregnant 17-year-old to leave an immigration shelter in Texas to have an abortion, a federal judge ruled Wednesday in the first legal rebuff for the administration’s ban on abortions for undocumented minors in federal custody. The girl, now about 15 weeks pregnant and identified only as Jane Doe, is entitled to decide whether to give birth and will suffer, “at a minimum, increased risk to her health” if she remains confined in the shelter, said U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan of Washington, D.C. (Egelko, 10/18)