Teen Immigrant 'Jane Doe' Has Finally Had The Abortion The Trump Administration Tried To Stop Her From Getting
Updates to this post appear at the bottom of the page.
The Trump administration is engaged in yet another a legal battle with the ACLU, this time over a 17-year-old undocumented immigrant's right to an abortion. "Jane Doe," as the Central American teen is being called in court documents, was detained after crossing the border in early September, and shortly thereafter discovered she was pregnant. She has been trying to get an abortion for several weeks, but the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees her care in a shelter for unaccompanied minors in Texas, has refused to allow her to get it — and the clock is ticking. Here's what we know.
Jane Doe Got A Judge's Permission To Get An Abortion In September
Doe had to jump through multiple hoops to arrange for an abortion, including getting a judge's permission to get around Texas' parental consent law and securing money from a local abortion fund. A legal nonprofit called Jane's Due Process, which represents pregnant minors in Texas, helped Doe do everything necessary in order to set up an appointment in late September.
[Jane's Due Process legal director Susan] Hays said Doe already has the court authorization required for the procedure itself. Under Texas law, minors need their parents' permission or a court order to get an abortion.
"On Sept. 28, she was scheduled to go get her options counseling and state law-mandated sonogram by the same physician that will perform the abortion," Hays said. The young woman was scheduled for an abortion the next day.
The Office Of Refugee Resettlement Refused To Allow Her To Get The Abortion
E. Scott Lloyd, who was appointed to lead the Office of Refugee Resettlement (a program within the Department of Health and Human Services) in March, has spent his short tenure trying to prevent pregnant detainees from getting abortions.
E. Scott Lloyd had little professional experience with refugees when Trump put him in charge of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which falls under the Department of Health and Human Services, in March. He did, however, have a long history of anti-abortion activism, and had written several articles decrying birth control. (One piece was subtitled, "Why You Can't Be Pro-Life and Pro-Contraception.")…
Brigitte Amiri of the A.C.L.U., the lead attorney on Doe's case, told me that at any one time, several hundred to a thousand pregnant unaccompanied minors are in U.S. custody. Under Lloyd, O.R.R. has banned shelters from helping any of these girls get abortions, instead mandating that they receive "life-affirming options counseling."
The federally funded shelter where Doe is being detained has not only refused to take her to her appointments with an abortion provider. It has also reportedly taken her to anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center to get an unwanted ultrasound, called her abusive mother in her home country to tell her about her daughter's pregnancy, put her under constant one-on-one supervision and barred her from performing any physical activity. In an email sent in mid-October, Lloyd wrote that Doe's "unborn child is a child [in] our care" and instructed that Doe "should not be meeting with an attorney regarding her termination."
The ACLU Took On Doe's Case And Won A Ruling That HHS Must Allow Her To Get The Abortion
The ACLU asked a federal district court to issue an emergency restraining order against the government so that Doe could get the abortion she wants. Although HHS argued that "there is no constitutional right" to an abortion for immigrant minors in federal custody, United States District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled in Doe's favor, ordering the government to let her visit an abortion provider.
Chutkan said the teen's immigration status was irrelevant and that she still had constitutional rights. She wrote that the teen will "suffer irreparable injury," including health risks, if the government interferes with her abortion plans. Chutkan also barred the government from forcing the teen to reveal her abortion decision to anyone or retaliating against her or the federally funded shelter housing her in Texas. She did not immediately act on an ACLU request to apply her ruling to other minors in federal custody.
On October 20, A Federal Appeals Court Ruled That HHS Must Find A Sponsor For Doe By The End Of October
The Trump administration appealed Chutkan's decision to a three-judge panel of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, which punted in a 2-1 decision. In order to avoid making setting any precedents that could be applied to other cases, the appeals court agreed to let HHS find a sponsor for Doe by the end of the month. By that time, Doe will be 16 weeks and 5 days pregnant; elective abortions after 20 weeks are illegal in Texas.
[Judge Brett] Kavanaugh appeared determined to find a narrow way to settle the issue. He repeatedly questioned whether Jane Doe could be released to a sponsor and then have an abortion.
"We're being pushed in a span of 24 hours to make a sweeping constitutional ruling in one direction or another," he said. "And when that happens the Supreme Court and this court look for — are there other avenues to resolving a dispute short of that, initially, and it seems to me in this case, if she were released to a sponsor, that would solve the government's objection."
[The Hill]
The ACLU Is Asking For An Emergency Review Allowing Doe To Get The Abortion Now
Late on Sunday night, the ACLU asked the full DC Circuit Court of Appeals — which comprises 10 judges, most of whom were appointed by Democrats — to review the panel's ruling and allow Doe to get the abortion immediately. Reviews of panel decisions by the full court, which are known as "en banc" hearings, are rare.
"Every additional day she must remain pregnant against her will places a severe strain on J.D., both physically and emotionally. Every additional week the government delays her abortion increases the risks associated with the procedure," the teen's attorneys wrote in the petition for en banc review filed with the D.C. Circuit just after 10 P.M. Eastern Time Sunday. "In a matter of weeks, J.D. will no longer be able to get an abortion at all, and the government will have forced J.D. to have a child against her will."
[Politico]
Update, October 24, 3:30 PM: The DC Circuit Court Has Ordered HHS To Step Aside
The DC Circuit Court of Appeals, granting the ACLU's request to rehear Jane Doe's case en banc, has ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to stop blocking Jane Doe's abortion. You can read the court's decision here. Circuit Judge Patricia Millett wrote the following in her majority decision:
Fortunately, today's decision rights a grave constitutional wrong by the government. Remember, we are talking about a child here. A child who is alone in a foreign land. A child who, after her arrival here in a search for safety and after the government took her into custody, learned that she is pregnant. J.D. then made a considered decision, presumably in light of her dire circumstances, to terminate that pregnancy. Her capacity to make the decision about what is in her best interests by herself was approved by a Texas court consistent with state law. She did everything that Texas law requires to obtain an abortion. That has been undisputed in this case.
[via ACLU]
Update, October 25, 12:30 PM: Jane Doe Has Gotten Her Abortion And Released A Statement
Doe has finally obtained the abortion she has spent more than a month fighting the Department of Health and Human Services to get. She also released a statement to the ACLU via her guardian. It reads, in full:
My name is not Jane Doe, but I am a Jane Doe.
I'm a 17 year old girl that came to this country to make a better life for myself. My journey wasn't easy, but I came here with hope in my heart to build a life I can be proud of. I dream about studying, becoming a nurse, and one day working with the elderly.
When I was detained, I was placed in a shelter for children. It was there that I was told I was pregnant. I knew immediately what was best for me then, as I do now — that I'm not ready to be a parent. Thanks to my lawyers, Rochelle Garza and Christine Cortez, and with the help of Jane's Due Process, I went before a judge and was given permission to end my pregnancy without my parents' consent. I was nervous about appearing in court, but I was treated very kindly. I am grateful that the judge agreed with my decision and granted the bypass.
While the government provides for most of my needs at the shelter, they have not allowed me to leave to get an abortion. Instead, they made me see a doctor that tried to convince me not to abort and to look at sonograms. People I don't even know are trying to make me change my mind. I made my decision and that is between me and God. Through all of this, I have never changed my mind.
No one should be shamed for making the right decision for themselves. I would not tell any other girl in my situation what they should do. That decision is hers and hers alone.
I've been waiting for more than a month since I made my decision. It has been very difficult to wait in the shelter for news that the judges in Washington, D.C. have given me permission to proceed with my decision. I am grateful for this, and I ask that the government accept it. Please stop delaying my decision any longer.
My lawyers have told me that people around the country have been calling and writing to show support for me. I am touched by this show of love from people I may never know and from a country I am just beginning to know — to all of you, thank you.
This is my life, my decision. I want a better future. I want justice.
[via ACLU]