US

Kavanaugh’s Dissent In Illegal Immigrant Abortion Case Is Famous. That Case Just Went Back To Court

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Judge Brett Kavanaugh dissented from a landmark case concerning the legality of illegal immigrant minors in custody to abort their unborn children in October 2017 — and that case is back in court.

A U.S. Court of Appeals panel is reviewing a case wherein an illegal immigrant teenager, Jane Doe, sought to abort her unborn baby, according to The Washington Post.

The case returned to court after lawyers from the Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to reverse a March decision barring the federal government from preventing illegal immigrant minors from aborting, according to WaPo.

While serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Kavanaugh dissented from a ruling in the case, causing liberals and prominent Democratic leaders to fear that Kavanaugh would overturn Roe v. Wade if he is confirmed to the Supreme Court.

The ruling in Roe v. Wade allows women to choose if they want to keep or terminate their pregnancies, up to a point of viability.

Women under 18 years old must receive parental permission or permission from a judge in order to abort, depending on the state of residence. Some states don’t require that minors receive permission from a parent or guardian, but require that minors tell their parents they intend to abort.

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins said Monday she doesn’t think Kavanaugh would overturn the 1973 law.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that Doe could go through with the abortion in October 2017, according to Politico. The 17-year-old girl crossed the border illegally and was roughly 15 weeks pregnant when she had her abortion. Private donors sponsored her abortion.

Kavanaugh dissented from a final ruling on the case allowing the government to transport Doe to an abortion facility for the procedure.

In his dissent, Kavanaugh said that while an illegal immigrant minor has 14th Amendment due process rights, she has no right to “abortion on demand.”

DOJ attorneys are seeking to reverse Chutkan’s ruling, claiming the federal government has no duty to facilitate abortion, while attorneys representing illegal immigrants allege that failing to provide abortion access to illegal immigrants is unconstitutional.

Court documents show there were 420 pregnant girls in custody during the 2017 fiscal year, WaPo reported.

Kavanaugh faces accusations of sexual misconduct from Julie Swetnick, Deborah Ramirez and Christine Blasey Ford. He denies all allegations and will testify at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday.

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