US President Donald Trump’s administration is blocking two pregnant teens in the US illegally and being held in federal custody from obtaining abortions, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said on Friday, a repeat of the situation that led to a high-profile court fight earlier this year.
Both girls arrived in the US as unaccompanied minors and are being held in federal shelters, the ACLU said.
The ACLU earlier this year represented a pregnant teen in the same circumstances in Texas, helping her obtain an abortion following a lawsuit.
The ACLU on Friday filed court papers updating the lawsuit filed in that earlier case to include the two additional teens, saying the facts of their cases are similar.
The ACLU is asking a federal judge to order the government not to interfere with or obstruct the girls’ access to abortions.
“Both minors have asked their respective doctors and their shelters for an abortion, but to date, the government has not allowed them to access abortion,” the ACLU wrote.
The judge overseeing the case has set a hearing for tomorrow. The same judge previously ruled in favor of the ACLU’s first plaintiff, referred to as Jane Doe.
Lawyers for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is responsible for sheltering children who illegally enter the US unaccompanied by a parent, have said the department has a policy of “refusing to facilitate” abortions.
“The minors in this case — who entered the country illegally — have the option to voluntarily depart to their home country or find a suitable sponsor. If they choose not to exercise these options, HHS does not believe we are required to facilitate the abortion,” HHS’ Administration for Children and Families said on Friday.
In court paperwork, the ACLU refers to the two new teens as Jane Roe and Jane Poe. It says 17-year-old Jane Roe learned late last month that she was pregnant during a medical examination while she was in federal custody.
She decided to have an abortion, but has not been allowed to, the ACLU wrote.
The teen wanted to end her pregnancy by taking medication that essentially causes a miscarriage, but because of the government’s “obstruction she is now past the point in pregnancy where she can have a medication abortion,” the ACLU wrote.
She is about 10 weeks pregnant, a court document said.
Court filings contain less information about the circumstances of Jane Poe, who is also said to have “discussed her pregnancy options with a physician and decided to have an abortion,” but has not been able to have one, the ACLU wrote.
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