ACLU suit reveals abortion ban for unaccompanied girls in immigration custody


The American Civil Liberties Union filed a suit on behalf of Jane Doe on Friday in Washington, D.C., challenging a previously unknown abortion ban for pregnant girls who are in immigration custody in government-funded shelters. Under the Trump administration policy, government-funded shelters cannot release minors for abortion-related services without approval from the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement. Scott Lloyd, director of the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement, has said he will allow release only for "pregnancy services and life-affirming options counseling."
The ACLU's initial lawsuit, filed in June 2016 in San Francisco, challenged the Obama administration's practice of placing young immigrants in shelters run by government-funded religious organizations. While U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler said that the Office of Refugee Resettlement had "no justification" for its refusal to allow Jane Doe to receive an abortion, she also concluded that she did not have jurisdiction over the government's actions in another state, given the matter was not closely related to the ACLU's original lawsuit.
Jane Doe's lawyers claim that pregnant minors in government-funded shelters are funneled to religiously sponsored "crisis pregnancy centers" that discourage abortions and pressure minors to carry out unwanted pregnancies, thus violating girls' constitutional right to privacy "by wielding a veto power over their abortion decisions."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement released a statement Monday night claiming its "legal responsibility to decide what is in the best interests of a minor in the unaccompanied alien program and in this case, her unborn baby."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kelly O'Meara Morales is a staff writer at The Week. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and studied Middle Eastern history and nonfiction writing amongst other esoteric subjects. When not compulsively checking Twitter, he writes and records music, subsists on tacos, and watches basketball.
-
Texas vs. Delaware: See you in court
Feature Delaware risks losing its corporate dominance as companies like Tesla and Meta consider reincorporating in Texas
By The Week US Published
-
Why did Americans stop using beef tallow and why is it back?
The Explainer A national turn away from saturated animal fats led to a big change in food preparation
By David Faris Published
-
Dark energy may not doom the universe, data suggests
Speed Read The dark energy pushing the universe apart appears to be weakening
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pauses $175M for Penn over trans athlete
Speed Read The president is withholding federal funds from the University of Pennsylvania because it once allowed a transgender swimmer to compete
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump purports to 'void' Biden pardons
Speed Read Joe Biden's pardons of Jan. 6 committee members are not valid because they were done by autopen, says Trump
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
White House ignores judicial deportation blocks
Speed Read The Trump administration deports alleged Venezuelan gang members under a wartime law, defying a court order
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Schumer: Democrats will help pass spending bill
Speed Read The Democrats end the threat of government shutdown
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pulls nomination of anti-vax CDC pick
Speed Read Former Florida congressmen Dr. Dave Weldon was nominated to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Judges tell Trump to rehire fired federal workers
Speed Read Trump and Elon Musk's DOGE team face a big setback in their efforts to shrink the federal workforce
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump trade war heats up as Canada, EU retaliate
Speed Read The president imposes 25% steel and aluminum tariffs in an effort to revive US manufacturing, though it may drive up prices for Americans instead
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump hawks Teslas, slashes more federal jobs
Speed Read The Education Department cut its workforce in half ahead of an expected Trump order to shutter the agency
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published