Illegal-immigrant minors in the U.S. have an unfettered constitutional right to obtain an abortion, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, ordering both the Trump administration and Texas officials to back off and allow a 17-year-old girl being held in a government-run shelter to be taken to a clinic.
District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who was appointed by President Obama, said during a hearing she was “astounded” that the administration was trying to hinder the girl, identified in court papers only as “J.D.”
“Despite the fact that she’s in this country illegally, she still has constitutional rights,” the judge said.
She said the shelter, run by a nonprofit group under a government contract, must either transport the girl itself or else let her guardian take her to a counseling session Thursday, as required by Texas law, and then take her to have the abortion Friday or Saturday.