A constant thread throughout the tragic story of an undocumented pregnant teenager who aborted her 16-week-old baby, was that for the ACLU, the role of “Jane Doe” was to make it impossible to prevent unaccompanied pregnant minors from coming into this country and aborting their babies. Indeed the ACLU has filed a class action suit arguing that undocumented teenagers have the same rights to access abortion that Americans have.
The continuing significance of this legal challenge was illustrated this week by a story in The Washington Times. Stephen Dinan reported, “The surge of illegal immigrant children crossing the border also means a surge of pregnant girls in U.S. custody, according to new government figures made public late Monday, highlighting the latest test of Trump administration policies.”
According to Dinan
At least 420 pregnant Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) have been caught and put into government care over the last year, and 43 pregnant illegal immigrant girls were still in custody of the Health and Human Services Department as of Oct. 17, Jonathan White, the department’s director for children’s programs, said in court documents.
Of the 420 girls seen in fiscal year 2017, 18 requested abortions and 11 had them. Another five rescinded their request for an abortion, and two were turned over to sponsors in the U.S. before a final decision was made, Mr. White said, meaning they were outside of government custody.
He added, “The Trump administration is vehemently fighting the ACLU, saying that as of right now there are no pregnant girls in government custody seeking abortions so there’s no need for a class action lawsuit.”
Click here for more from NRL News Today
