An illegal alien teenager in federal custody for illegally entering the U.S. obtained an abortion Wednesday morning, less than 24 hours after a federal judge forced the government to allow the teen to have an abortion on the taxpayer’s dime.
Attorneys for the 17-year-old illegal alien known as “Jane Doe” announced the news Wednesday, ending a weeks-long battle between the Trump administration and the federal court system over the federal government’s policy that illegal aliens do not have the “right” to an abortion.
“Justice prevailed today for Jane Doe. But make no mistake about it, the administration’s efforts to interfere in women’s decisions won’t stop with Jane,” said Brigitte Amiri, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Reproductive Freedom Project, who represented the teen.
The ACLU posted a statement from Doe to their Twitter account, which read in part:
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.
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.
SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser told Breitbart News Wednesday afternoon that she was “deeply saddened” about the news, offering prayers for the teenager and the child.
“We are deeply saddened to learn that Jane Doe’s child has been aborted,” Dannenfelser said in a statement. “Our thoughts are foremost with the young girl, who has now been saddled with the death of her child before she has even reached her eighteenth birthday – a terrible burden for anyone to carry, much less at such a tender age and so far from home.”
“We ask that the pro-life community and all compassionate Americans keep her and her child in their prayers,” she added.
Dannenfelser said she rejected the narrative of abortion advocates, such as the ACLU, who claim this was an act of justice and said that both the parent and the child were victims of the “extreme agenda of the abortion lobby.”
The Trump administration and eight state attorneys general fought the ACLU in court over the past few weeks to stop the courts from granting the unaccompanied illegal alien minor approval to obtain the abortion.
Judges have issued contradictory rulings on the subject during the past few weeks.
Judge Tanya Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, appointed by former President Barack Obama, issued a temporary restraining order ruling that the U.S. government violated an illegal alien minor’s rights by denying her access to an abortion that American taxpayers would partially pay for—including transportation to the facility, access, and care.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed Judge Chutkan’s decision in a 2-1 vote on October 20, upholding the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) policy against taxpayer-funded abortions.
All ten judges on the D.C. Circuit reconsidered the appeal without oral arguments and reversed the panel’s decision in a 7-3 vote, sending the case back to the trial court.
U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco had the option to ask the U.S. Supreme Court for an emergency stay on the D.C. Circuit’s ruling to block it and uphold HHS policy, but no application for a stay was filed before the teen, who was nearly 16 weeks pregnant, obtained the abortion.
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