Undocumented Teen Gets Abortion, After Appeals Court Ruling: Your Texas Roundup

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Fear not @Astros fans. Not another tweet about #HoustonAstros until the #WorldSeries is over. No jinx.”

—Governor Greg Abbott on Twitter on Sunday. His premature congratulations may have jinxed the ‘Stros in the heartbreaking 2015 playoffs (and possibly jinxed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election), so Abbott isn’t taking any chances this time.

BIG NEWS

Activists with Planned Parenthood demonstrate in support of a pregnant 17-year-old being held in a Texas facility for unaccompanied immigrant children to obtain an abortion, outside of the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington.AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Reversed Ruling
An undocumented teenager got an abortion Wednesday morning, after a ten-judge court ruled on Tuesday that the Trump administration cannot prevent her access to the procedure. This is the final step in a legal battle that began on October 13, when the American Civil Liberties Union filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of the pregnant seventeen-year-old in Texas. According to the ACLU, federal officials prevented the girl, referred to as Jane Doe, from attending medical visits, informed her mother in Central America about her intended abortion, and forced her to have a medically unnecessary sonogram without her consent. In response, attorneys for the Justice Department argued that as an undocumented immigrant, Doe didn’t have the same rights as a U.S. citizen, including the right to an abortion. On October 18, U.S. Court of Appeals District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that the government must allow Doe to attend her abortion appointments “without delay.” But the Trump administration appealed Chutkan’s decision, and on October 20, a three-judge panel from the Court of Appeals delayed her access to an abortion again, giving the federal government until October 31 to find a sponsor to take her to a clinic for the procedure. According to the Texas Tribune, after Doe’s attorneys requested a re-hearing, the full ten-judge court reinstated Chutkan’s decision on Tuesday, ruling that the teen could immediately access the abortion. Doe got the procedure Wednesday morning, before the Trump administration could appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. “No one should be shamed for making the right decision for themselves,” Doe wrote in a statement. “I would not tell any other girl in my situation what they should do. That decision is hers and hers alone.”

MEANWHILE, IN TEXAS

Bad News Astros
The Houston Astros lost game one of the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 on Tuesday night. Even playing in 103-degree weather—the hottest playoff or World Series game on record—the Astros’ bats were cold, as Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw struck out eleven batters in the first seven innings. The game got off to a rocky start for Houston fans when Dodgers outfielder Chris Taylor hit a home run off Dallas Keuchel’s first pitch of the game. And despite a game-tying homer from Astros third baseman Alex Bregman in the fourth inning, Justin Turner’s two-run home run in the sixth gave the Dodgers a lasting lead. The Astros play game two on Wednesday in Los Angeles before heading back to Houston for games three and four.

A Changed Story
Sherin Mathews’s body has been identified, and her father has changed his account of her death. Two weeks ago, the three-year-old girl went missing from her Dallas home after her father, Wesley Mathews, allegedly sent her to stand alone in a nearby alley at 3 a.m. as punishment for not drinking her milk. On Sunday, searchers recovered the body of a small child; on Monday, police confirmed the body was Sherin. Wesley Mathews was charged on Monday with first-degree felony injury to a child, punishable by up to life in prison, according to the Houston Chronicle. The suspect also revised his police statement. According to his new account, the toddler choked on milk in the family’s garage, and he removed her body from the house afterwards.

Like Father, Like Son
Donald Trump Jr. praised his father’s nationalist message on Tuesday in a speech to 700 people at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle. “The years where we ignore our true national interest and our countrymen, that has now come to a stop,” Trump said at the University of North Texas Kuehne Speaker Series event. “We’re not going to put other countries ahead of us any longer.” The president’s son also praised UNT for offering training for “actual careers,” while criticizing other universities for coddling students and “teaching them courses in zombie studies, underwater basket weaving, and, my personal favorite, tree climbing,” according to the Star-Telegram. Trump’s appearance at the event was controversial: 87 faculty members wrote a letter expressing “profound shock, dismay, and embarrassment” when UNT announced his speech in August. Trump was paid $100,000 for his remarks.