The American Civil Liberties Union is working to block the Trump administration from restricting access to abortions for two undocumented immigrants.
Two teenagers seeking abortions while in federal custody have been deterred by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, according to a news release from the ACLU. The suit resembles one from earlier this year involving Jane Doe, a teen who requested to leave the shelter in order to obtain an abortion and was eventually cleared to do so by a federal appeals court.
After the procedure the government sought to wipe that decision off the books, fearful that other women might use it to justify their own procedures.
That case is pending before the Supreme Court, and it marks the first instance that the Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to consider an abortion-related case.
The case will reignite the debate over the role of the government when it comes to facilitating an abortion for a minor who has come into the country and seeks an abortion while in the custody of the government.
“We’ve already stopped the Trump administration from blocking one young woman’s abortion,” read a statement from Brigitte Amiri, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. “But the Trump administration is relentless in its cruelty, blocking abortion access for the most marginalized people in our country. It’s unreal that the federal government is trying to force more young women to continue their pregnancies against their will.”