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Customs Enforcement: Immigrant Women

customs enforcement: Here's a look at some of the background to the dispute WHAT ARE THE ABORTION RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN FEDERAL CUSTODY Women in federal prisons and immigrant women detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are entitled to obtain an abortion, though in most cases they must do so without federal financial assistance, according to Metro News. ICE will assume the costs in cases of rape or incest, or when the mother's life would be endangered by carrying a fetus to term.ICE said it had 525 pregnant women in custody at various points in the 2017 fiscal year; it said it did not have figures on how many had abortions while being held. In a case that's stirring strong emotions on both sides of the abortion debate, a federal appeals court ruled Friday that the government could have until Oct. 31 to find a sponsor to whom it could release the teenager so that she can elect to have the abortion on her own. IS THE SITUATION DIFFERENT FOR MINORS Immigrant minors placed in federal custody for entering the country illegally such as the pregnant teen in Texas are put in the care of the Department of Health and Human Services, which contends that pregnant girls in this situation do not have a constitutional right to abortion. In a recent court motion, HHS said it had a policy of refusing to facilitate abortions, including by committing staff and other resources, except in very limited circumstances. HHS says decisions should be made in the best interests of the child, which might include trying to prevent the girl in question from obtaining an abortion. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.