CULTURE

Government Immigration Lawyers Cannot Discuss Abortion with Young Clients

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The Vera Institute of Justice was reportedly told not to discuss abortion options with their young clients at the request of the government.

According to The Washington Post, lawyers are supposed to refer clients that are interested in obtaining an abortion to other attorneys. The nonprofit group Vera Institute of Justice followed this new rule in fear that ignoring it would put the multi-million dollar contract with the Department of Health and Human Services at risk.

In a recent post published on their website, the institution spoke out about the controversy regarding its practices, stating, “A recent instruction from ORR gave us an impossible choice: to risk a vital program that serves 50,000 children a year, or make it more difficult to provide them information on their reproductive rights, including their constitutionally protected right to an abortion. To protect these children, Vera conveyed the ORR (Office of Refugee Resettlement) instructions to its partners with guidance on an alternate way legal service providers could ensure children were advised of their reproductive rights. Vera also affirmed that this instruction in no way prevented attorneys providing legal representation to these children from discussing their constitutional rights on this subject.”

The institution went on to state that they have since rescinded their subcontractor’s instructions.