Top House Judiciary Committee Dems Respond to Pro-Choice Caucus Calls to Subpoena HHS Officials Involved with Undocumented Abortion-Seeking Rape Survivor Case

December 22, 2017

Nadler, Lofgren, Jackson Lee, Cohen, Cicilline, Raskin: We Wholeheartedly Agree

House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) today released a joint statement with Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Subcommittee Ranking Member David N. Cicilline (D-RI), Constitution and Civil Justice Subcommittee Ranking Member Steve Cohen (D-TN), and Vice Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD), in response to a letter from the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, which calls for the House Judiciary Committee to subpoena Department of Health and Human Services officials involved in a decision to deny a 17-year-old rape victim her right to have an abortion.

"We wholeheartedly agree with our colleagues' request that the Judiciary Committee hold a hearing on the Trump Administration's outrageous attempt to deny an abortion to a teenage rape victim. Just because she is in federal custody does not mean that she loses her constitutional rights, nor her fundamental human dignity. This case is the third recent effort by the Office of Refugee Resettlement to prevent an undocumented minor from obtaining a constitutionally protected abortion, a disturbing trend under the Trump Administration that must be investigated by our Committee. We join our colleagues in calling on the Chairman to hold a hearing on this important issue immediately upon our return in January."

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Subcommittees

Constitution and Civil Justice (115th Congress)

The Constitution and Limited Government (115th Congress)

Crime and Federal Government Surveillance (115th Congress)

Constitution and Civil Justice (115th Congress)

Overcriminalization (115th Congress)

Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security (116th Congress)

Issues: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Constitution Crime Government Oversight Immigration National Security