On Monday, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to bar a 10-weeks pregnant teenage girl in immigration custody from receiving an abortion, mimicking moves made by the administration against an unaccompanied Central American minor this past October.
As reported by Politico, the administration’s request was made only a few hours after a federal judge ordered that abortions be permitted for two undocumented 17-year-old girls. U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan (appointed by former U.S. President Barack Obama) filed a restraining order Monday evening to facilitate abortions for the two teen girls, and while the Justice Department yielded on one case (the girl is estimated to be 22 weeks pregnant), they filed a stay application in respect to the girl 10 weeks pregnant, citing “differing circumstances.”
Chutkan explained that the cases were essentially the same as the one ruled on in October, commenting that there was a “need to preserve [the girls’] constitutional right to decide whether to carry their pregnancies to term.”
The teens seeking abortions are being represented by Brigitte Amiri of the American Civil Liberties Union, who, after the ruling, commented, “We’re prepared to keep fighting for as long as we need to,” stating that the ordeal was “absolutely deja vu” of the October case.
Despite recommendations from the Department of Health and Human Services, Chutkan remained strong in her assertion: “Every decision to terminate a pregnancy is a difficult one. That doesn’t mean because she arrived at her decision after a struggle, that’s less of a right.”
The ACLU has requested to convert the case to a class action to protect other undocumented teens in federally funded shelters, but Chutkan has not yet made a decision on the request.
Photo by Charlotte Cooper, via Flickr Creative Commons
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