Trump Administration Ordered to Inform Illegal Immigrants of "Right" to Abortion Rules Says Obama-Appointed Federal Judge
Calvin Freiburger : Apr 18, 2018
Lifesitenews.com
The statements must be printed in both English and Spanish, and given to both males and females in custody, regardless of whether the latter is actually pregnant. They also come with contact information for an attorney from the left-wing American Civil Liberties Union, and advise girls to call or email the lawyer if government officials interfere with their attempts to abort.
(Washington, DC)—[Lifesitenews.com] A federal judge has ruled that the federal government must notify underage illegal immigrants in its custody that they have a legal right to obtain abortions. (Photo: Immigration march/via SFSU.edu)
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, an Obama appointee, ruled Friday that, starting "immediately," the Trump administration must distribute written notices of the "right" to abortion "to all unaccompanied minors," the Washington Times reports.
"If you are pregnant, you have the right to decide whether to have the baby or to have an abortion," the notice reads. "No one who works for the government or the shelter can force your decision either way. No one who works for the government or the shelter can tell anyone about your pregnancy or decision to have an abortion if you don't want them to do so."
The statements must be printed in both English and Spanish, and given to both males and females in custody, regardless of whether the latter is actually pregnant. They also come with contact information for an attorney from the left-wing American Civil Liberties Union, and advise girls to call or email the lawyer if government officials interfere with their attempts to abort.
The notices must also be posted at the dorms in which illegal immigrant minors are kept, and if a minor does become pregnant she must be given another notice of her "right," delivered in her "primary spoken language."
Under current law, illegal immigrant minors caught without parents are turned over to the Department of Health and Human Services, which gives them housing until they can be matched with sponsors in the United States. These notices implement Chutkan's ruling two weeks ago certifying a class action against HHS for refusing to facilitate illegal immigrants' abortions.
For months, Chutkan and the Trump administration have been locked in a legal battle over the issue. Last December, the judge ordered the administration to allow a 17-year-old "Jane Doe" from Mexico to get an abortion.
The government argues that it has a "strong and constitutionally legitimate interests in promoting childbirth, in refusing to facilitate abortion, and in not providing incentives for pregnant minors to illegally cross the border to obtain elective abortions while in federal custody." It says that illegal minors who want abortions can either accept deportation back to their home countries, or work to find a sponsor and leave government custody.
Pro-life leaders have strongly denounced Chutkan's ruling.
"Americans United for Life is deeply concerned by the recent judicial activism" of Chutkan, AUL president and CEO Catherine Glenn Foster told LifeSiteNews in a statement. "This compelled notice goes far beyond notifying potential class members of the lawsuit; it forces [the Office of Refugee Resettlement], as well as ORR-funded shelters and legal services—including those with pro-life views—to promote and facilitate abortions"...
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