Pro-Choice Leaders Call on Judiciary Committee to Subpoena Witnesses in Case of Abortion-Seeking Teen

Dec 22, 2017
Press Release
Undocumented 17-year-old in federal custody sought procedure after being raped and becoming pregnant

WASHINGTON, DC – The co-chairs of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY), today called on the leadership of the House Judiciary Committee to subpoena Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officials involved in a decision to deny a 17-year-old rape victim her right to have an abortion.

The undocumented teen, known as Jane Poe in court filings, was in federal custody and stated that she was a victim of sexual assault in her home country, which has not been identified publicly. The HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which is responsible for the care of undocumented teens in federal facilities, rejected her request to be able to obtain an abortion. The American Civil Liberties Union intervened with a court filing last week on her behalf; thanks to a D.C. District Court judge’s ruling, she was allowed to have an abortion on December 20. Due to disturbing questions raised by information in court filings, ORR Director Scott Lloyd is among the people DeGette and Slaughter are asking the Judiciary Committee to subpoena for questioning.

“According to these court filings, the Trump Administration attempted to force a rape victim to carry a pregnancy to term against her will,” DeGette and Slaughter wrote in a letter to the Committee. “This is an egregious, unconscionable violation of Jane Poe’s right to make this decision. We fear that other women currently in detention may be facing similar injustices at the hands of Trump Administration officials.  In order to prevent more women from being denied their rights, ORR’s policies and decision to deny Jane Poe an abortion need urgent and close examination and oversight by Congress. We strongly urge the Judiciary Committee to question Mr. Lloyd immediately when Congress returns in January.”

The two legislators note in their letter that Lloyd said he decided to deny the abortion because he was “convinced that an abortion in this case [was] not in her best interest.”  

“The Constitution guarantees women the right to access abortion and prohibits the government from putting an undue burden on that right,” they wrote. “We are strongly opposed to ORR’s unconstitutional policy of denying abortion to undocumented minors.  Indeed, ORR’s decisions denying abortion have now been overturned in federal court multiple times. Aside from being unconstitutional, the ongoing efforts by ORR staff to intimidate and scare young women out of exercising their rights are also offensive and highly inappropriate for any government official, let alone senior officials in the Trump Administration.”

 

The full text of the letter follows:

 

 

December 22, 2017

 

Chairman Bob Goodlatte                                                                     Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler

House Judiciary Committee                                                                 House Judiciary Committee

2309 Rayburn House Office Building                                                 2109 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515                                                                       Washington, DC 20515

 

Dear Chairman Goodlatte and Ranking Member Nadler,

 

We write today with grave concerns about court filings that revealed Trump Administration officials denied a seventeen-year-old immigrant woman (“Jane Poe”), who is a victim of rape, her right to have an abortion.  We request that the Judiciary Committee subpoena officials within the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), including Director Scott Lloyd, for immediate questioning about this deeply troubling incident.

 

The relevant court filings (Case 1:17-cv-02122-TSC, Document 87) include a memo written by ORR Director Scott Lloyd outlining the Administration’s decision to deny Jane Poe an abortion. Lloyd’s memo reveals that he was aware that Jane Poe informed ORR officials that she was sexually assaulted in her home country, and that the assault likely resulted in her pregnancy.  Lloyd also acknowledges that “at least one senior program staff” at ORR recommended that Poe be allowed to have an abortion.  Nevertheless, Lloyd decided to deny the abortion because he was “convinced that an abortion in this case [was] not in her best interest.”  He overtly assumes that he, rather than Jane Poe, was in the best position to decide her future.

 

The Constitution guarantees women the right to access abortion and prohibits the government from putting an undue burden on that right.  We are strongly opposed to ORR’s unconstitutional policy of denying abortion to undocumented minors.  Indeed, ORR’s decisions denying abortion have now been overturned in federal court multiple times. Aside from being unconstitutional, the ongoing efforts by ORR staff to intimidate and scare young women out of exercising their rights are also offensive and highly inappropriate for any government official, let alone senior officials in the Trump Administration.

 

The new details about the circumstances surrounding Jane Poe, however, raise even more questions about the ORR policy that demand immediate answers from Mr. Lloyd.  According to these court filings, the Trump Administration attempted to force a rape victim to carry a pregnancy to term against her will.  This is an egregious, unconscionable violation of Jane Poe’s right to make this decision. We fear that other women currently in detention may be facing similar injustices at the hands of Trump Administration officials. 

 

In order to prevent more women from being denied their rights, ORR’s policies and decision to deny Jane Poe an abortion need urgent and close examination and oversight by Congress. We strongly urge the Judiciary Committee to question Mr. Lloyd immediately when Congress returns in January.