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Federal Appeals Court Rules Detained Undocumented Teenager Can Get an Abortion

HeadlineOct 25, 2017

A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., has ruled an undocumented teenager detained in a refugee resettlement shelter in Texas does have the right to have an abortion. The ruling comes after the Trump administration tried to stop the pregnant 17-year-old from accessing an abortion. Her lawyer says the staff at the refugee shelter in Brownsville, Texas, forced the girl to call her abusive parents to tell them about her pregnancy—despite the fact that her parents allegedly beat the girl’s older sister until she miscarried for getting pregnant out of wedlock. The lawyer also says the staff retaliated against the girl after learning about her plans to get an abortion, limiting her time with other kids at the shelter and allegedly repeatedly asking her what she planned to name the baby.

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