Missing some glue in our country

You probably have not heard the story of a young migrant woman (17 years old) whom we call “Jane Doe.” Jane is from Central America. While the immigrant-flow from Mexico has dramatically decreased over the last decade or so (to the point that there is negative net impact), the same is not true for minors fleeing the horrors south of Mexico. Those numbers have been exploding in the last five (5) years.

Central America (Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador) is a mess right now. Thanks to gangs, drugs, and unchecked violence, childhood has become a torture-fest. Rape, murder, impressment into gangs, abusive families, bullying, this is the world of a Central American youth.

Some of this is our fault. The dangerous M-13 gang, reviled by President Trump as a reason to shut our Southern Border, is not a Central American creation brought to the U.S. on the backs of illegal immigrants. Rather, it was born on the streets of Los Angeles. Yes, M-13 gang-bangers may hail from elsewhere, but it started here and once an M-13 lieutenant is convicted, serves a prison sentence, and is deported back, he arrives back home as a chieftain in what is fast becoming almost a shadow government.

In early September, Jane tried come here for the hope of a life and she was picked up by immigration authorities. Because she came here without adult supervision, she was appointed a legal guardian by our governmental immigration apparatus, and placed in a shelter, much as a foster child would be placed in a foster home. Jane is still here banking on receiving asylum as an escape from the death, abuse and/or torture awaiting her if she is deported.

None of this is really unusual about Jane’s plight and nothing about it attracts much attention. The twist is that she is pregnant. I cannot find any reports about “how” she became pregnant, except that it happened before she crossed the border. Jane wants an abortion, which suggests that this pregnancy is the spawn of abuse. This is likely as an estimated 60% of female migrants who seek shelter in this country are victims of rape.

Jane is being housed in Texas, having one of the most stringent abortion processes in the country; her rights to an abortion are governed by Texas Law. Texas law says that, since Jane is a minor, a judge has to review her request for an adoption – this is called “judicial bypass” or “judicial consent.” Most states provide for this where there is no parent available to provide consent. In addition, though, Texas required Jane to undergo an ultrasound (and be shown the results) and receive counseling about the evils of abortion. On top of this, Federal law prohibits Federal funds from being used to facilitate an abortion (the Hyde Amendment). Three (3) hurdles Jane needed to clear to have her wish

granted.

Surprisingly, with non-profit financial assistance, she cleared all of them in time to have a “first-term” abortion scheduled by late September. A Texas judge had granted her request, the non-profit organization arranged for Jane to have the necessary ultrasound and receive counseling, and money was raised to both pay for the abortion and for transportation. This abortion never happened.

The reason for this appears to be E. Scott Lloyd, appointed by President Trump as head of the “Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR),” a part of the Department of Health and Human Services. ORR runs the shelter where Jane is living. Mr. Lloyd’s background does not suggest he is all that interested in refugees, but he is a strong opponent of abortion. He also believes that government can dictate what control a woman has over reproductive decisions. Consistent with this philosophy, he has as the head of ORR, apparently, personally visited child refugees like Jane and tried to dissuade them from having an abortion.

A lawsuit filed on Jane’s behalf by Brigette Amiri of the A.C.L.U., alleges that the staff at this shelter has been ordered (by Mr. Lloyd) not to cooperate with Jane’s attempt to have an abortion. The staff even reportedly called and have Jane’s mother (who had abused Jane) try to convince her not to have the abortion. According to the lawsuit, Jane has been denied normal freedoms and activities and has been placed under constant supervision.

According to Ms. Amiri, Jane has been signaled out for derision at group events and is being held “hostage” at the shelter.

Still, Jane persists in wanting to have an abortion. On October 18th, a Federal judge ordered this nonsense stopped and a (now) second-trimester abortion was scheduled for October 20th. An appeal caused that date to be missed and, if our government can run the clock out long enough, and the pregnancy reaches 20 weeks, Jane could be forced by Texas law to carry the baby to term.

Which seems patently absurd, since that baby would be a U.S. Citizen and either: a) an “anchor baby” immigration opponents abhor; or, b) the truest of orphans, if his or her teenage mother is deported.

This illustrates a rot in this country. We cannot seem to agree on where to draw the line on government action; we have lost something of the glue that has made us into a great nation.

Religious conservatives complain about government intrusion into their moral decisions; yet, when individuals want to make personal decisions, government intrusion is considered a blessing. Our country was founded on principles of individual freedoms. Children like Jane come here expecting to breathe in that liberty. It turns out we may have become just as insensitive to freedom as the horror she fled.

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