Trump Admin Demands ACLU Be Disciplined for Misleading Gov't About Illegal Immigrant's Abortion
President Donald Trump's Justice Department reportedly filed a petition on Friday with the U.S Supreme Court, declaring that it has been misled by American Civil Liberties Union lawyers regarding a 17-year-old illegal immigrant's abortion.
The case concerns an unidentified teen from Central America who attempted to enter the U.S. without her parents in September while pregnant, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The teenager attempted to leave a South Texas refugee center in order to see an abortion provider, but Trump's administration attempted to block her from going through with the procedure.
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The ACLU filed a successful federal lawsuit in October, with a federal court upholding the ruling on Oct. 24, allowing the minor to have an abortion the following day.
The Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families warned at the time that the decision "sets a dangerous precedent by opening our borders to any illegal children seeking taxpayer-supported, elective abortions."
The Justice Department is now saying that ACLU lawyers had agreed to keep it informed about the procedure, and that they purposefully moved the abortion from Oct. 26 to Oct. 25, before the administration could appeal to the high court.
"In light of that, the Justice Department believes the judgment under review should be vacated and discipline may be warranted against Jane Doe's attorneys," the agency said.
Solicitor Gen. Noel Francisco said that the "extraordinary circumstances" of the case should lead to sanctions.
The ACLU argued that the Trump administration's lawyers failed to file their emergency appeal quickly enough.
"This administration has gone to astounding lengths to block this young woman from getting an abortion," ACLU Legal Director David Cole said in response.
"After the courts cleared the way for her to get her abortion, it was the ACLU's job as her lawyers to see that she wasn't delayed any further — not give the government another chance to stand in her way," he stated.
"Our lawyers acted in the best interest of our client and in full compliance with court orders and federal and Texas law," Cole added. "That government lawyers failed to seek judicial review quickly enough is their fault, not ours."
Texas Catholic Conference in Austin denounced the ACLU's efforts in the illegal immigrant's abortion case. It earlier argued that requiring "the government to facilitate and participate in ending the innocent life of the unborn child" would diminish "the historic promise of our nation to serve as a beacon of hope for all."
The Texas bishops stated in October that "compelling others to perform, facilitate or pay for abortion who do not wish to do so" is unconscionable.
"The ACLU's ongoing efforts to force others to participate in abortion extend even to religious organizations whose very reason for providing services is to uphold and foster the dignity of all persons, including the immigrant and the unborn. When the ACLU sues the federal government to block faith-based organizations from receiving federal funds, it presages fewer services to the poor and vulnerable.
"The ACLU, by thwarting the delivery of vital human services by organizations with the competence and experience to provide them, seems to shift its mission from protecting liberty to undermining it, harming the intended beneficiaries of those services in the process."
