June 4 (UPI) — The U.S. Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration Monday in dismissing a lower court ruling that allowed a 17-year-old undocumented migrant to get an abortion.
The action was announced in a five-page, unsigned opinion without dissents or an indication of how each justice ruled.
The Trump administration urged the court to vacate the ruling, which would eliminate the value of the case as legal precedent for pregnant women in custody.
The unaccompanied 17-year-old girl crossed from Mexico to the United States in September and was detained. She sought an abortion, but even with Texas’ permission she was denied by the operators of the detention facility.
She sued, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, and a federal judge ruled that immigrant women in federal custody have the same right of access to an abortion as U.S. citizens.
The judge ordered the government to present her to a clinic for treatment. An appeals court in Washington ultimately agreed, issuing its ruling in October. It eventually became apparent that she had the abortion prior to Justice Department plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Justice Department also said ACLU lawyers for the girl misled the government about when she would undergo the procedure. But Monday’s ruling offered no suggestion about disciplining the lawyers.
