Abortion for illegals a constitutional right?

The American Civil Liberties Union previously won a lower court decision that forced the government to cover an abortion for a teenage girl who illegally crossed the Mexican border into America. But government attorneys went on to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"It vacated a lower court opinion which said that the Office of Refugee Resettlement policy to not facilitate abortions for unaccompanied alien minors is no longer going to be binding in future cases," Rachel Busick, staff counsel for Americans United for Life tells OneNewsNow about the ruling. "So the Office of Refugee Resettlement is able to continue to enforce that policy."

But that is not a settled decision because the ACLU has a pending class action lawsuit and could file others on behalf of girls who are captured while crossing the border to get an abortion.

"We hope the lower courts and the Supreme Court would not hold that there is a constitutional right for unaccompanied alien minors apprehended at the border to require the government to facilitate abortions as a matter of policy, and we think that is unconstitutional to require the government to hold that position," Busick says. 

Abortion is severely restricted in most states in Mexico, which could mean a flood of women, including minors, might make their way into the U.S. to obtain abortions they would not be able to get in their home state. And if captured prior to the abortion, a wrong decision from American courts could mean taxpayers would pay for those abortions.