AG Paxton Applauds SCOTUS Decision Protecting the Unborn

Ken Paxton

AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today praised a decision by the United States Supreme Court to vacate the D.C. Circuit’s en banc decision that the government must comply with an unlawfully-present minor alien’s request for an abortion in Texas. In December 2017, Texas led an 11-state coalition that filed an amicus brief in support of the federal government’s refusal to comply with the abortion request and asking the Supreme Court to vacate the D.C. Circuit’s en banc decision.

“The Supreme Court made the right decision to vacate the D.C. Circuit’s ruling creating a right to abortion for anyone who enters the U.S. illegally,” Attorney General Paxton said. “The previous ruling not only cost a life, but could have paved the way for extending American citizens’ rights to all unlawfully-present aliens with no substantial connection to this country. Texas will not become a sanctuary state for abortions, and will continue the fight to protect and promote fetal life.”

In September 2017, “Doe” illegally entered the U.S. from Mexico without her parents and lived in a shelter in Texas funded by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which represents “Doe,” contended that HHS must help her get an abortion.