Via TPM:
An appeals court on Thursday temporarily stayed a judge’s ruling that would have allowed a pregnant 17-year-old being held in a Texas facility for unaccompanied immigrant children to obtain an abortion.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a short ruling allowing the teenager to be taken to a counseling meeting with the doctor who would perform the abortion. Texas state law requires women to receive counseling 24 hours before an abortion. If the appeals court lifts the stay during a hearing Friday morning, the teen would still potentially be able to have the procedure later Friday or on Saturday.
Susan Hays, legal director for the Texas group Jane’s Due Process, which helps pregnant minors obtain an abortion, said the teen was receiving counseling Thursday morning.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services filed an appeal Wednesday night shortly after U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled in favor of the teenager.
The teen, whose name and country of origin have been withheld because she’s a minor, has already received a state court order permitting her to have the abortion. But federal officials have refused to transport her or temporarily release her so that others can take her to have the procedure.
via Weasel Zippers
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