10/19/2017

ABORTION/HHS/IMMIGRATION/LEGAL/TEXAS: “A lawsuit at the intersection of two emotional issues—illegal immigration and abortion—is speeding through the courts, as judges consider whether an undocumented teen in U.S. custody may terminate her pregnancy over the wishes of the Trump administration.
The 17-year-old girl has been held in a government-funded shelter in Texas since September, when she crossed the southern border illegally. She is now about 15 weeks pregnant and seeks an abortion, according to court documents, and the Department of Health and Human Services is preventing her from leaving the shelter to obtain the procedure.
In a rare move Thursday [10-19-17], a federal appeals court hastily scheduled an oral argument for Friday morning after U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington, D.C., sharply criticized the administration’s position and ordered it to release the teen to travel to the nearest abortion clinic this week. The government appealed the decision immediately.
The appeals court put the court order on hold temporarily so it could consider the case, which raises questions about whether undocumented immigrants in custody have the same constitutional right to an abortion that is accorded to U.S. citizens.”

-Brent Kendall and Laura Meckler, “Appeals Court to Review Case of Undocumented Teenager Seeking Abortion,” The Wall Street Journal online, Oct. 19, 2017 05:57pm