Immigrant Minor Held ‘Hostage’ by Texas Because She Wants Abortion Care
Oct 11, 2017
Tina Vasquez
"The government is basically trying to argue that undocumented immigrants have zero rights, including the right to abortion."
An unaccompanied immigrant minor at a Texas shelter is being prevented from accessing abortion care by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), the federal agency overseeing migrant youth crossing the U.S.-Mexico border without a guardian.
Brigitte Amiri, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Reproductive Freedom Project, is seeking a temporary restraining order today to allow Jane Doe to access abortion. The teen was granted a judicial bypass from a Texas judge, allowing her to receive an abortion because her parents were not willing or able to provide consent. However, the 17-year-old has had to cancel two abortion appointments because officials are both refusing her transportation to the medical facility and refusing to allow her to leave the shelter with her guardian for the purpose of obtaining an abortion. ORR is supposed to provide transportation to minors when they need to go to court or see a doctor.
Continued at source: https://rewire.news/article/2017/10/11/immigrant-minor-held-hostage-texas-wants-abortion-care/