DOJ petitions Supreme Court, accuses ACLU of lying

The Justice Department accused the ACLU of lying in a federal court case about the timing of an illegal immigrant girl’s abortion, and asked the Supreme Court to take the case and overturn a decision that critics say creates a constitutional right for illegal immigrants to have abortions in the U.S.

The administration said the American Civil Liberties Union rushed the 17-year-old illegal immigrant to get an abortion in order to prevent any chance for more legal wrangling last month.

Justice Department lawyers said they’d been preparing to ask the Supreme Court to take up the case, but the ACLU’s speedy abortion for the girl identified in court documents only as “J.D.” short-circuited that.

“The government planned to seek an emergency stay from this Court before Ms. Doe could obtain an abortion,” the brief reads. “Ms. Doe’s appointment was changed so that instead of obtaining counseling at 7:30 a.m. on October 25, she would undergo an abortion at 4:15 a.m. that morning, just hours before the government planned to file its stay application.”

The Justice Department alleges the ACLU did not notify the government of the change.

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