A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to allow a pregnant 17-year-old immigrant, who was held in custody after entering the country illegally, to undergo an abortion in Texas.
On Wednesday, Judge Tanya Chutkan said she was “astounded” that the Trump administration was trying to block the procedure, and ordered the government to move “promptly and without delay” to take the teenager to the nearest abortion provider.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the pregnant teen, known in the lawsuit as Jane Doe, hailed the ruling as a major victory for abortion and immigrant rights.
But the Justice Department appealed the case late Wednesday, asking the US Court of Appeals for the DC circuit to stay the ruling.
The temporary restraining order said the Trump administration must allow the unnamed 17-year-old girl, believed to be about 15-weeks pregnant, to receive the abortion within days.
The teen previously received a court order permitting her to have the abortion, however, officials refused to transport her to the clinic.
She is in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which deals with unaccompanied minors detained at the US-Mexico border. In March, the office changed its policies to discourage and block minors from getting abortions.
Wednesday's hearing consisted of a contentious debate between Judge Chutkan and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Scott Stewart, with the judge saying she was "astounded" by the government's position.
Mr Stewart argued that the teenager was free to return to her home country and seek an abortion there, but said "the government is entitled to favour childbirth" and shouldn't be required to facilitate abortions.
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She is being held at a facility in Texas by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is responsible for sheltering children who illegally enter the United States unaccompanied by a parent.
She's believed to be about 15 weeks pregnant. Texas law bans most abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy and requires minors to get the consent of a parent or obtain a waiver from a judge.
The minor received permission to have an abortion without parental consent and obtained funds to pay for it, however, lawyers say the facility holding her refused to let her go. Instead, she was taken by the facility to a crisis pregnancy centre, which attempt to discourage women from having abortions.
HHS called the ruling “troubling” and said it was considering its "next steps to ensure our country does not become an open sanctuary for taxpayer-supported abortions by minors crossing the border illegally."
Brigitte Amiri, one of the lawyers who represented the case expressed concern “about the lengths that the federal government is willing to go to prevent Jane Doe from getting her abortion.”
She said the appeal was a tactic to delay the case until the girl could no longer legally have an abortion.