TEEN IN FEDERAL CUSTODY ALLOWED ABORTION ACCESS

An immigrant teen in federal custody who was seeking an abortion over the Trump administration’s objections had the procedure Wednesday after a U.S. appeals court ruled in her favour, her lawyers said.

The 17-year-old had fought for a month to have an abortion, eventually leading to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The agency oversees facilities for unaccompanied minors who enter the United States illegally and had refused her requests for an abortion.

The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Tuesday restored a lower court’s ruling against HHS. The new ruling ordered HHS to step aside and allow the teen to go forward with an abortion.

“Justice prevailed today for Jane Doe,” said Brigitte Amiri, an ACLU lawyer who argued for the teen in court.

The teen illegally entered the U.S. in September and learned she was pregnant while in federal custody in Texas. She obtained a state court order on Sept. 25 permitting an abortion. But federal officials refused to transport her or temporarily release her for the procedure. HHS argued it had established a policy of “refusing to facilitate” abortions for people in its care.