Parents stopped from forcing Texas teen to have abortion
ADF-allied attorneys representing teen girl secure temporary restraining order to save baby’s life
On two occasions, the teenager’s mother forcefully brought her to local abortion facilities, including International Healthcare Solutions and Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region, demanding that her daughter terminate the life of her child. Though she refused and the child’s father also does not want the baby killed, her parents continued to insist that they will force her to have the abortion. The court’s order prevents that from happening.
“No one should be allowed to decide that an innocent life--especially one that belongs to someone else--is worthless. The right not to have an abortion is protected by law, and this right isn’t relinquished just because someone else considers the child to be an unwanted burden,” said Stephen Casey of Round Rock, one of more than 1,800 attorneys in the ADF alliance. Casey and another ADF-allied attorney, Gregory R. Terra of Georgetown, filed the motion for the restraining order together with Allan E. Parker of The Justice Foundation in San Antonio.
The 16-year-old high school student, who is carrying a 13-week-old pre-born child, was even more confirmed in her decision against having an abortion after receiving information from a pro-life prayer worker outside one of the abortion facilities to which her mother dragged her. The Justice Foundation’s Center Against Forced Abortion and the two ADF-allied attorneys working with the Texas Alliance for Life and the Austin Coalition for Life coordinated efforts on the girl’s behalf to file a motion for a temporary restraining order on Sunday. The court granted it Monday. She is still living with her parents.
“This situation illustrates what a difference it can make when a woman is more fully informed about the true nature of abortion,” said ADF Legal Counsel Matt Bowman. “We intend to fully support this young woman in her desire to allow her child to live.”
The motion for the temporary restraining order was filed by ADF-allied attorneys in the District Court of Travis County. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Oct. 28 to consider a motion to convert the temporary restraining order into a temporary injunction.
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
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ABOUT Matt Bowman
Matt Bowman serves as senior counsel and director of regulatory practice for Alliance Defending Freedom, where he leads the team focusing on the impact of administrative law on religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and family. From 2017 to 2020, Bowman was a senior executive service appointee in the Trump administration, serving the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as Deputy General Counsel, and then in the Office for Civil Rights. Prior to joining HHS, Bowman was an accomplished litigator at ADF for over ten years. Before joining ADF in 2006, Bowman served as a law clerk for Judges Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and Michael A. Chagares, at the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and for Judge John M. Roll at the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. Bowman earned his J.D. summa cum laude and was first in his class at Ave Maria School of Law in 2003. He is a member of the bar of the District of Columbia and Michigan and is admitted to practice at the U.S. Supreme Court and multiple federal appellate and district courts.