Federal Court Clearing Way for Immigrant Teen to Get Abortion Could Have Huge Ramifications

Watch CBN's Lorie Johnson's full interview with Penny Nance, of Concerned Women for America, about the implications of the ruling shortly before it was handed down.

 A U.S. appeals court has cleared the way for a 17-year-old undocumented immigrant to obtain an abortion in the United States. 
  
The ruling Tuesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overruled a decision that  temporarily blocked the teen from having the procedure.

The teen, whose name and country of origin will not be revealed because she's a minor, is about 15 weeks pregnant. She illegally entered the U.S. in September and discovered she was pregnant after being arrested and held federal in custody in Texas. 

She obtained a state court order Sept. 25 permitting her to have an abortion, but federal officials have refused to transport her or temporarily release her so she can have the abortion. 

Lawyers for the Department of Health and Human Services, which is responsible for sheltering unaccompanied minors who illegally cross the border, have said the department has a policy of "refusing to facilitate" abortions.

The teenager's lawyers said the government had to "get out of the way" and release the girl into the custody of a so-called sponsor, such as an adult relative who lives in the United States. 
  
The government now has until Oct. 31 to release the girl.

We recently spoke to Penny Nance from Concerned Women of America who says this ruling now opens the door for children to come to the United States to get abortions. 

"This will open up the door for any child, any runaway," she warned. 

Even more, she reminded viewers that this case isn't just about an undocumented minor, but two people. 

"There's not one person who came across that border, it's two people. At this point, at 15 weeks, we have a fully developed little baby boy or girl who has eyes, who has ears, who hears," Nance said. "We're talking about an innocent baby who came across the border."

While the case is completely in the court's hands, Nance says the only way to fight this decision is to pray. 

"Most importantly let's fight this on our knees. We need to pray," she said.