The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday appeared unconvinced Friday the government can block an undocumented 17-year-old girl who is in federal custody from getting an abortion.
The government argues the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can choose not to “facilitate” the teen’s access to an abortion. But Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a George W. Bush appointee, asked if women in federal prison, under Supreme Court precedent, have the right to obtain an abortion.
Department of Justice Attorney Catherine Dorsey said they do have the right because women in prison have no way other way to obtain one. But the immigrant teen is different, Dorsey said, because she has the right to voluntarily leave the United States.
But Kavanaugh responded that, by Dorsey’s own definition, the government would be facilitating the abortion of prisoners.
Read more at The Hill.
