A federal appeals court late Friday gave the Department of Health and Human Services until October 31 to find a sponsor for a pregnant 17 year old illegal immigrant who is being held in a South Texas immigrant detention center, sidestepping the question of whether taxpayers should provide her with an abortion, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
If the teen gets a sponsor, she can be released from the custody of the government, and would be free to obtain an abortion at her own expense.
The teenager, called 'Jane Doe' in court documents, became pregnant while immigrant smugglers were taking her from her home in Central America to Texas.. It is estimated that more than half of unaccompanied minor children, even those as young as three, are sexually assaulted by the smugglers, many of whom are associates of Mexican drug cartels.
Even though states are obligated to provide medical care for people who are incarcerated, the state has declined to agree to an 'elective abortion' for Jane Doe, saying it would make Texas a 'Sanctuary State' for abortions, and would put taxpayers on the hook to pay for abortions for any woman who enters the state illegally.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the teen, says the 1973 Roe vs Wade decision legalizing abortion prohibits states from denying abortions to people who are in the state for any reason.
The ACLU says delaying the decision for ten days pushes Jane Doe, who is 17 weeks pregnant, into an area where abortions are more complicated, and could result in delaying the procedure to the time when abortions are not allowed.