A full bench appeals court in D.C. on Tuesday ruled that the Trump administration may not prevent an undocumented teenager in federal custody from seeking an abortion. (Photo: Jordan Uhl/flickr/cc)
Oct 25, 2017
Reproductive rights advocates breathed a collective sigh of relief on Tuesday when a full federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. overturned a decision by a three-judge panel and ruled that Trump administration officials may not prevent a 17-year-old undocumented immigrant in federal custody from aborting her pregnancy.
\u201cThe court of appeals recognized what we knew all along: This was an egregious overreach, & abortion access is a human right. #JusticeForJane\u201d— NARAL (@NARAL) 1508880610
The recent series of court battles over attempts by Jane Doe, as the teenager is being called, to get an abortion while being held at a "government-funded shelter in Texas" brought to light a broader policy by the Trump administration's Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) that effectively bans the procedure for minors in federal custody.
Last Friday, a three-judge panel had denied demands from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)--which is representing Jane Doe--to uphold a lower court's ruling to require the government to allow the abortion, and gave officials until Oct. 31 to find a sponsor for the 17-year-old, such as a family member living in the country, so Jane could have the procedure after leaving the shelter.
The ACLU appealed that 2-1 decision, and on Sunday requested input from a full bench appeals court, which ruled Tuesday that the district court should update its timeline from the initial ruling in favor of Jane and the ACLU, as the dates have since passed.
Those who have advocated for the teenager celebrated the latest decision, with many praising the concurring opinion penned by Judge Patricia Millett, who wrote: "today's decision rights a grave constitutional wrong by the government."
\u201cJudge Millett concurrence: Being undocumented "does not mean that an immigrant\u2019s body is no longer her or his own." https://t.co/temva8bzZl\u201d— Irin Carmon (@Irin Carmon) 1508874489
In her detailed rebuke of the federal government's arguments, Millett also wrote, "the government bulldozed over constitutional lines" when it argued Jane Doe "has the burden of extracting herself from custody if she wants to exercise the right to an abortion that the government does not dispute she has."
"The court today correctly recognizes that J.D.'s unchallenged right under the Due Process Clause," Millett concluded, "affords this 17-year-old a modicum of the dignity, sense of self-worth, and control over her own destiny that life seems to have so far denied her."
Several advocates and rights groups--including Jane's ACLU attorney Brigitte Amiri--praised the ruling on Twitter, often using the hashtag #JusticeForJane:
\u201cHuge victory 4 #JusticeForJane. Thanks everyone for your support. This is PRECISELY why I work @ACLU: help others & hold gov't accountable https://t.co/tbE8k5zz4r\u201d— Brigitte Amiri (@Brigitte Amiri) 1508877759
\u201cToday's Circuit Court decision affirms the right to an abortion for even the most vulnerable among us. #JusticeforJane\u201d— Jane's Due Process (@Jane's Due Process) 1508875611
\u201cYES. Abortion access is a constitutional and a human right. #JusticeForJane https://t.co/KTZ1YTHLJY\u201d— The National Women's Health Network (@The National Women's Health Network) 1508939561
\u201cLos inmigrantes tienen derechos constitucionales. No permitan que la administraci\u00f3n de Trump finja a lo contrario #JusticiaParaJane\u201d— National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice (@National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice) 1508878800
NARAL president Ilyse Hogue celebrated the decision while also warning of the Trump administration's broader efforts to curb women's healthcare rights and calling for further action to ensure undocumented people in the United States have unfettered access to reproductive care:
\u201cBut we can't rest just yet\u2014there will be no #JusticeForJane until she is able to walk into a clinic w/o interference from the U.S. govt.\u201d— Ilyse Hogue is @ilyseh on mastodon (@Ilyse Hogue is @ilyseh on mastodon) 1508877758
\u201cThere will be no #JusticeForJane until countless other young, undocumented women can make their own #reprohealth decisions.\u201d— Ilyse Hogue is @ilyseh on mastodon (@Ilyse Hogue is @ilyseh on mastodon) 1508877758
\u201cIf Trump admin appeals, this cld go to SCOTUS-& we must be ready to use our collective power to fight for justice for every single Jane Doe.\u201d— Ilyse Hogue is @ilyseh on mastodon (@Ilyse Hogue is @ilyseh on mastodon) 1508877758
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Reproductive rights advocates breathed a collective sigh of relief on Tuesday when a full federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. overturned a decision by a three-judge panel and ruled that Trump administration officials may not prevent a 17-year-old undocumented immigrant in federal custody from aborting her pregnancy.
\u201cThe court of appeals recognized what we knew all along: This was an egregious overreach, & abortion access is a human right. #JusticeForJane\u201d— NARAL (@NARAL) 1508880610
The recent series of court battles over attempts by Jane Doe, as the teenager is being called, to get an abortion while being held at a "government-funded shelter in Texas" brought to light a broader policy by the Trump administration's Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) that effectively bans the procedure for minors in federal custody.
Last Friday, a three-judge panel had denied demands from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)--which is representing Jane Doe--to uphold a lower court's ruling to require the government to allow the abortion, and gave officials until Oct. 31 to find a sponsor for the 17-year-old, such as a family member living in the country, so Jane could have the procedure after leaving the shelter.
The ACLU appealed that 2-1 decision, and on Sunday requested input from a full bench appeals court, which ruled Tuesday that the district court should update its timeline from the initial ruling in favor of Jane and the ACLU, as the dates have since passed.
Those who have advocated for the teenager celebrated the latest decision, with many praising the concurring opinion penned by Judge Patricia Millett, who wrote: "today's decision rights a grave constitutional wrong by the government."
\u201cJudge Millett concurrence: Being undocumented "does not mean that an immigrant\u2019s body is no longer her or his own." https://t.co/temva8bzZl\u201d— Irin Carmon (@Irin Carmon) 1508874489
In her detailed rebuke of the federal government's arguments, Millett also wrote, "the government bulldozed over constitutional lines" when it argued Jane Doe "has the burden of extracting herself from custody if she wants to exercise the right to an abortion that the government does not dispute she has."
"The court today correctly recognizes that J.D.'s unchallenged right under the Due Process Clause," Millett concluded, "affords this 17-year-old a modicum of the dignity, sense of self-worth, and control over her own destiny that life seems to have so far denied her."
Several advocates and rights groups--including Jane's ACLU attorney Brigitte Amiri--praised the ruling on Twitter, often using the hashtag #JusticeForJane:
\u201cHuge victory 4 #JusticeForJane. Thanks everyone for your support. This is PRECISELY why I work @ACLU: help others & hold gov't accountable https://t.co/tbE8k5zz4r\u201d— Brigitte Amiri (@Brigitte Amiri) 1508877759
\u201cToday's Circuit Court decision affirms the right to an abortion for even the most vulnerable among us. #JusticeforJane\u201d— Jane's Due Process (@Jane's Due Process) 1508875611
\u201cYES. Abortion access is a constitutional and a human right. #JusticeForJane https://t.co/KTZ1YTHLJY\u201d— The National Women's Health Network (@The National Women's Health Network) 1508939561
\u201cLos inmigrantes tienen derechos constitucionales. No permitan que la administraci\u00f3n de Trump finja a lo contrario #JusticiaParaJane\u201d— National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice (@National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice) 1508878800
NARAL president Ilyse Hogue celebrated the decision while also warning of the Trump administration's broader efforts to curb women's healthcare rights and calling for further action to ensure undocumented people in the United States have unfettered access to reproductive care:
\u201cBut we can't rest just yet\u2014there will be no #JusticeForJane until she is able to walk into a clinic w/o interference from the U.S. govt.\u201d— Ilyse Hogue is @ilyseh on mastodon (@Ilyse Hogue is @ilyseh on mastodon) 1508877758
\u201cThere will be no #JusticeForJane until countless other young, undocumented women can make their own #reprohealth decisions.\u201d— Ilyse Hogue is @ilyseh on mastodon (@Ilyse Hogue is @ilyseh on mastodon) 1508877758
\u201cIf Trump admin appeals, this cld go to SCOTUS-& we must be ready to use our collective power to fight for justice for every single Jane Doe.\u201d— Ilyse Hogue is @ilyseh on mastodon (@Ilyse Hogue is @ilyseh on mastodon) 1508877758
Reproductive rights advocates breathed a collective sigh of relief on Tuesday when a full federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. overturned a decision by a three-judge panel and ruled that Trump administration officials may not prevent a 17-year-old undocumented immigrant in federal custody from aborting her pregnancy.
\u201cThe court of appeals recognized what we knew all along: This was an egregious overreach, & abortion access is a human right. #JusticeForJane\u201d— NARAL (@NARAL) 1508880610
The recent series of court battles over attempts by Jane Doe, as the teenager is being called, to get an abortion while being held at a "government-funded shelter in Texas" brought to light a broader policy by the Trump administration's Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) that effectively bans the procedure for minors in federal custody.
Last Friday, a three-judge panel had denied demands from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)--which is representing Jane Doe--to uphold a lower court's ruling to require the government to allow the abortion, and gave officials until Oct. 31 to find a sponsor for the 17-year-old, such as a family member living in the country, so Jane could have the procedure after leaving the shelter.
The ACLU appealed that 2-1 decision, and on Sunday requested input from a full bench appeals court, which ruled Tuesday that the district court should update its timeline from the initial ruling in favor of Jane and the ACLU, as the dates have since passed.
Those who have advocated for the teenager celebrated the latest decision, with many praising the concurring opinion penned by Judge Patricia Millett, who wrote: "today's decision rights a grave constitutional wrong by the government."
\u201cJudge Millett concurrence: Being undocumented "does not mean that an immigrant\u2019s body is no longer her or his own." https://t.co/temva8bzZl\u201d— Irin Carmon (@Irin Carmon) 1508874489
In her detailed rebuke of the federal government's arguments, Millett also wrote, "the government bulldozed over constitutional lines" when it argued Jane Doe "has the burden of extracting herself from custody if she wants to exercise the right to an abortion that the government does not dispute she has."
"The court today correctly recognizes that J.D.'s unchallenged right under the Due Process Clause," Millett concluded, "affords this 17-year-old a modicum of the dignity, sense of self-worth, and control over her own destiny that life seems to have so far denied her."
Several advocates and rights groups--including Jane's ACLU attorney Brigitte Amiri--praised the ruling on Twitter, often using the hashtag #JusticeForJane:
\u201cHuge victory 4 #JusticeForJane. Thanks everyone for your support. This is PRECISELY why I work @ACLU: help others & hold gov't accountable https://t.co/tbE8k5zz4r\u201d— Brigitte Amiri (@Brigitte Amiri) 1508877759
\u201cToday's Circuit Court decision affirms the right to an abortion for even the most vulnerable among us. #JusticeforJane\u201d— Jane's Due Process (@Jane's Due Process) 1508875611
\u201cYES. Abortion access is a constitutional and a human right. #JusticeForJane https://t.co/KTZ1YTHLJY\u201d— The National Women's Health Network (@The National Women's Health Network) 1508939561
\u201cLos inmigrantes tienen derechos constitucionales. No permitan que la administraci\u00f3n de Trump finja a lo contrario #JusticiaParaJane\u201d— National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice (@National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice) 1508878800
NARAL president Ilyse Hogue celebrated the decision while also warning of the Trump administration's broader efforts to curb women's healthcare rights and calling for further action to ensure undocumented people in the United States have unfettered access to reproductive care:
\u201cBut we can't rest just yet\u2014there will be no #JusticeForJane until she is able to walk into a clinic w/o interference from the U.S. govt.\u201d— Ilyse Hogue is @ilyseh on mastodon (@Ilyse Hogue is @ilyseh on mastodon) 1508877758
\u201cThere will be no #JusticeForJane until countless other young, undocumented women can make their own #reprohealth decisions.\u201d— Ilyse Hogue is @ilyseh on mastodon (@Ilyse Hogue is @ilyseh on mastodon) 1508877758
\u201cIf Trump admin appeals, this cld go to SCOTUS-& we must be ready to use our collective power to fight for justice for every single Jane Doe.\u201d— Ilyse Hogue is @ilyseh on mastodon (@Ilyse Hogue is @ilyseh on mastodon) 1508877758
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