Some Senate Democrats are angry that the Trump administration is trying to save unborn babies and moms from abortion.
On Friday, 19 senators delivered a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services acting secretary Eric Hargan to complain that the department now is encouraging immigrants and refugees to choose life for their unborn babies, the Daily Caller reports.
Democratic Sens. Al Franken, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Dianne Feinstein, Richard Blumenthal and Robert Melendez, among others, specifically were upset by the Trump administration’s handling of an illegal immigrant minor’s abortion earlier this fall.
“We are extremely disturbed by the continued reports of intervention in the medical care of minors in the Office of Refugee Resettlement,” the senators wrote in the letter.
They claimed that HHS is failing “Jane Doe” and other women “by denying access to legal healthcare (meaning abortion), undermining privacy, denying access to attorneys, and potentially identifying sponsors in violation of the law.”
“We continue to be concerned that [the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s] implementation of policies and procedures regarding care for minors in the federal government’s custody is inconsistent with federal law and best practices to provide for the care of minors,” the letter continued.
They also criticized Office of Refugee Resettlement Director Scott Lloyd, a Trump nominee, for instituting new life-affirming policies. They claimed Lloyd is trying to “impose his own extreme views” on women – simply because he believes women should be encouraged to choose life for their unborn babies.
“He [Lloyd] by law has custody of these children, and just like a foster parent, he knows that that’s a lot of responsibility and he is going to make choices that he thinks are best for both the mother and the child,” the Office of Refugee Resettlement wrote in response, according to the Washington Examiner.
Click here to sign up for pro-life news alerts from LifeNews.com
Jane Doe, the undocumented teenager at the center of the court battle, aborted her 16-week unborn baby on Oct. 25, barely a day after a federal appeals court forced Trump administration officials to help facilitate the abortion.
The 17-year-old came to the country illegally and was staying at a taxpayer-funded shelter in Texas when she requested an abortion. The shelter did not assist her, citing a new government policy that they offer life-affirming support to women and girls who are pregnant, according to Slate.
According to the report, the shelter took Jane Doe to a pro-life pregnancy resource center instead. The ACLU said the teen did not change her mind after receiving counseling, and scheduled an abortion; however, the shelter where she is staying refused to transport her to the appointment.
The ACLU sued on behalf of the teen, and after a series of appeals by the U.S. government and the ACLU, the pro-abortion legal group won in federal appeals court. The teen aborted her unborn baby just one day later.
Earlier this year under President Donald Trump’s administration, the Office of Refugee Resettlement issued a new policy requiring that taxpayer-funded shelters for immigrants and refugees offer life-affirming support to women and girls who are pregnant.
Office Director Scott Lloyd said the shelters may not take “any action that facilitates” an abortion for unaccompanied minors without his direct approval.
Lloyd said that “grantees should not be supporting abortion services … only pregnancy services and life-affirming options counseling.”
