Trump administration seeks to block immigrant teen from having abortion
Trump administration seeks to block immigrant teen from having abortion
The national debate on abortion continued Monday, as a federal judge considered a pregnant immigrant teenager’s request to have an abortion. Pictured: the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.
(Reuters)
A pregnant immigrant teenager detained by the federal government should be blocked from having an abortion, the Trump administration said Monday in a request to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The request came hours after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to allow that teen and another teen to undergo abortions as soon as Tuesday evening, Politico reported.
Both girls are 17 years old. The Trump administration wants to block the teen who is 10 weeks pregnant from having an abortion.
But administration lawyers have said they would allow the second teen, who is 22 weeks pregnant, to abort her pregnancy, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Both teens arrived in the U.S. from Central America as unaccompanied minors and were living in federal shelters, though the locations were not disclosed.
The Justice Department did not provide a detailed explanation for why it acquiesced in one girl’s case while appealing to block the other teen from getting an abortion, but cited “differing circumstances,” Politico reported.
Both teens are being held in states where 17-year-olds do not require parental or judicial consent to have an abortion, Politico reported.
The American Civil Liberties Union has been representing the girls in court.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration of Children and Families said the two girls also had the option of returning to their home countries or finding sponsors.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: Trump administration seeks to block immigrant teen from having abortion
