Federal Judge Blocks Guam’s Abortion Law
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AGANA, Guam — A federal judge Friday issued a temporary restraining order allowing women in this U.S. territory to seek abortions despite a new law banning the procedure.
The order resulted from a lawsuit filed by Janet Benshoof, director of the American Civil Liberties Union Reproductive Freedom Project, said Rachael Pine, staff attorney for the project.
U.S. District Judge Alex R. Munson scheduled a hearing for Monday at which he will decide whether to issue a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the law until the lawsuit is heard in court, Pine said.
The law prohibits abortions except when a pregnancy endangers the life of the mother. It makes it a third-degree felony to perform abortion or aid in the procedure, a misdemeanor for a woman to solicit or have an abortion and a misdemeanor for a person to solicit a woman to have an abortion.
Gov. Joseph Ada signed the measure into law on Monday. It was unanimously passed March 8 by the territory’s Legislature.
Benshoof was charged Tuesday with a misdemeanor count of solicitation to commit abortion after she tested the law by advising women seeking abortions to travel to Honolulu.
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