WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court in Washington is wrestling with whether the government should be required to allow a pregnant 17-year-old being held in a Texas facility for unaccompanied immigrant children obtain an abortion.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia heard arguments in the case Friday morning. The court didn’t say when it would rule.
A federal trial court judge had ruled for the teen, but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has appealed.
The teen, whose name has been withheld, has already received a state court order permitting her to have the abortion. Federal officials have refused to transport her or temporarily release her so that others may take her to have the procedure.
