Skip to content

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • As climate change worsens hurricane season in Louisiana, doulas are ensuring parents can safely feed their babies

        Jessica Kutz · May 5
      • Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito argued abortion isn’t an economic issue. But is that true?

        Chabeli Carrazana · May 4
      • Pregnant people are at 'greater risk' in states hit hard by wildfire smoke, air pollution, new report shows

        Jessica Kutz · April 20
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Biden’s new environmental justice office aims to tackle the health impacts disproportionately faced by people of color

        Jessica Kutz · June 2
      • Jessica Cisneros takes on the last anti-abortion U.S. House Democrat

        Amanda Becker · February 25
      • Meet J. Michelle Childs, South Carolina judge and possible Supreme Court contender

        Candice Norwood · February 18
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
      • Few incarcerated women were released during COVID. The ones who remain have struggled.

        Candice Norwood · August 17
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: How pregnant people can prepare for a summer of heat waves

        Jessica Kutz · June 17
      • The 19th Explains: How new Title IX guidelines on sexual misconduct may give more help to survivors

        Nadra Nittle · June 14
      • The 19th Explains: How would overturning Roe v. Wade affect IVF?

        Jennifer Gerson · May 27
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
      • Woman alleges that an assisted living facility denied her admission because she is transgender

        Sara Luterman · November 8
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Florida’s redistricting fight continues. The head of the state League of Women Voters talks about what’s at stake.

        Barbara Rodriguez · April 19
      • Women have been sounding the alarm ahead of Texas’ first-in-the-nation primary

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 28
      • LGBTQ+ people of color are at risk from rising voter restrictions as federal protections falter in the Senate, advocates say

        Orion Rummler · January 19

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Elections 2022
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Politics
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

Support The 19th

As a nonprofit newsroom, members are critical to our sustainability. Your financial support helps make our journalism possible.

Become a member

Donate to support our mission

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Two silhouettes, one of a woman and one of a girl are illuminated by car headlights.
Since September 1, when the law known as Senate Bill 8 took effect, at least a handful of unaccompanied pregnant minors in government immigration facilities have sought abortions in Texas. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Abortion

Pregnant undocumented minors, many of them rape survivors, no longer have access to abortions in Texas

Officials have been ordered to transfer minors seeking abortions to facilities outside the state — delaying their access to the procedure.

Shefali Luthra

Health Reporter

Shefali Luthra portrait

Published

2021-10-18 11:16
11:16
October 18, 2021
am

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Texas’ six-week abortion ban has effectively eliminated in-state access to the procedure for teenagers who are being held in immigration detention facilities for unaccompanied minors, despite court orders that give them the right to all reproductive health care options — including abortion. 

As a result, those teens are largely being transferred to immigration facilities in other states that have not banned the procedure after six weeks. 

It’s not clear how many undocumented minors have requested abortions or had to be transferred from Texas to other states to receive abortions. Comprehensive numbers are kept by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, which did not respond to multiple requests for information. But since September 1, when the law known as Senate Bill 8 took effect, at least a handful of unaccompanied pregnant minors in government immigration facilities have sought abortions in Texas, according to legal advocates and physicians. 

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

All were turned down because they were past six weeks of pregnancy or could not get legal permission for an abortion in time, the advocates say. At least some of those patients were then moved to facilities in other states for abortion, a process that — by delaying when in pregnancy someone can get an abortion — often results in a more complex and potentially more expensive procedure. 

“If it wasn’t for SB8, every single one of them that has come through so far since September 1, we could have treated no problem,” said Dr. Blair Cushing, a physician who performs abortions at Whole Woman’s Health in McAllen, Texas. The clinic is the main abortion-providing clinic for many of the state’s immigration facilities for unaccompanied minors. 

Children and teenagers who come to the United States without a parent or legal guardian are detained in ORR facilities. The government is supposed to provide food, housing and any necessary medical care – including abortions — and then send those minors to some sort of adult sponsor. Texas is home to more of those children than any other state.

A newsletter you can relate to

Storytelling that represents you, delivered to your inbox.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting…

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

But in Texas, anyone seeking an abortion who is under 18 must first have proof of parental consent, or get approval from a judge — a process known as judicial bypass, which typically takes at least a week, but often more. The federal government, which ostensibly has guardianship privileges for minors in immigration facilities, does not typically provide such consent. As a result, all undocumented minors must get approval from a judge before they can end a pregnancy. 

In the past month, Cushing has seen four teenage patients who were pregnant and undocumented. Three were already too far along in the pregnancy to get an abortion in the state of Texas. The fourth was not yet at six weeks. But by the time she would have gotten judicial approval, she likely would be past the point at which an abortion is available in Texas.

The patients Cushing sees in these cases are typically younger, she added — 14 or 15 years old — and many appear to have become pregnant as a result of sexual assault. Some don’t realize they are pregnant until they reach the detention facility.

By then, it’s too late for an abortion — at least in Texas.

  • More from The 19th
    In this illustration, a figure approaches the Trust Women clinic in Wichita, Kansas at dusk. A warm glow comes from the clinic's window where two more figures are seen.
  • Kansas has become a beacon for abortion access. Next year, that could disappear.
  • For 48 hours, abortion after 6 weeks was legal in Texas. Getting care still wasn’t easy
  • The 19th Explains: How 3 lawsuits could potentially stop the Texas abortion ban

“It was immediate that it became almost impossible for most immigrant minors to get an abortion,” said Rosann Mariappuram, executive director of Jane’s Due Process, an organization that helps pregnant minors in Texas get access to abortions. “We try to date their pregnancies as quickly as possible, but in almost all the instances we’re seeing youth that are past six weeks — and not by a little bit.”

In a lawsuit challenging the Texas abortion ban, the Department of Justice noted that the law has interfered with the federal government’s ability to provide the full range of medical care to people under its jurisdiction — including undocumented minors who are in government facilities and legally entitled to the option of an abortion.

As of October 1, the federal government has issued guidance directing detention facilities to give any pregnant minor in a Texas-based site the option of being transferred to another state that has less punitive abortion laws. 

Already, Texas-based immigration facilities had been making such arrangements, Mariapurram said. But it’s a tricky process. 

The government must find a facility with open space, in a state where abortion is more available than Texas or where there is a strong network of lawyers and advocates to help people access one — typically New Mexico, New York, California, Oregon and Arizona. 

Since children aren’t supposed to stay long-term in detention facilities, there should be the prospect of a nearby sponsor or relative who can offer them a home. 

For minors, leaving Texas also means losing contact with any lawyers or support networks they may have established and starting from scratch in a new facility. And if the minor in question has been exposed to COVID-19, their trip could be delayed by a week because of quarantining protocols.

All of that adds up.

“It’s devastating, and there are multiple layers of devastating,” said Brigitte Amiri, who heads the reproductive freedom project at the ACLU. “It’s a delay in accessing care which — we know abortion is safer the earlier you can access it. Unnecessary delays increase the risk.”

That’s the concern Cushing raised. 

One girl she saw was just over seven weeks pregnant, she said. If not for the Texas law, she could have received a medication abortion, a two-pill regimen that does not involve surgery, and is far cheaper. But medication abortions are only recommended up until 10 weeks of pregnancy. 

If the girl had to wait more than three weeks — entirely possible, once you add in all the potential delays associated with moving states and booking a new appointment — surgery would be the only option on the table. Surgical abortions are generally safe but can be more uncomfortable and invasive, particularly for someone who has never given birth.

Another girl was about 11 or 12 weeks along. Delaying her abortion for travel would mean a more involved, potentially more painful dilation process. “For her, a delay is a really big deal,” Cushing said. 

“That’s always been a part of the concern,” Cushing said. “All the different obstacles they’ve put in place have made it harder and harder for people to access care in a timely fashion. It makes it much harder.”

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Support The 19th

As a nonprofit newsroom, members are critical to our sustainability. Your financial support helps make our journalism possible.

Become a member

Donate to support our mission

Up Next

Nneka Ogwumike and Chiney Ogwumike walk together in a basketball stadium.

Abortion

‘For all families and gender identities’: WNBA union denounces Texas abortion ban in New York Times ad

‘This directly affects a lot of people in our league as a women’s league and a league of people with uteruses,’ the union’s first vice president said.

Read the Story

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Subscribe to the Newsletter
  • Attend an Event
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram