Delayed abortion case fuels intrigue at Supreme Court
After weeks of delay, the Supreme Court is expected to make a decision soon on an unusual request from the Trump administration in a politically charged abortion case.
In early November, Solicitor General Noel Francisco asked the court to toss out a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals order that allowed an unaccompanied immigrant teen in federal custody to obtain an abortion. But in a twist, the solicitor general has also asked the court to punish the opposing attorneys at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Francisco argued the 17-year-old's lawyers improperly snuck her off in the early morning hours - 4:15 a.m. - to get an abortion before the government could appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
The request has been pending before the justices for months, which could signal there's a fight happening behind the scenes, experts say.
The request has been pending before the justices for months, which could signal there's a fight happening behind the scenes, experts say.
"It's quite possible that the request has provoked dueling opinions from across the bench that are not just dueling in substance, but whether the Supreme Court should be addressing it in the first place," said Steve Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, who argued a case before the justices earlier in the term.
The justices have relisted the case for consideration at conference 15 different times.
Daniel Epps, an associate professor of law at Washington University School of Law, said it's strange that the court is taking a long time to decide on a fairly simple petition.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/delayed-abortion-case-fuels-intrigue-at-supreme-court/ar-AAya5e2?li=BBnb7Kz
Gorsuch?
"This is getting pretty weird," Epps said.