This is appalling and nothing short of a total violation of this young woman’s right to privacy. But more importantly, this move is designed to tie up the legal system with an appeal long enough to force Jane Doe (as the 17-year-old is known) into a full-term pregnancy that she wishes to terminate. She is now 15 weeks pregnant and, in Texas, abortions after 20 weeks are illegal.

State laws in Texas also mandate two trips to obtain an abortion, with a waiting period in between, as well as an ultrasound before a woman can get the procedure.

Why in the world is this issue worth wasting time in court and taxpayer money? More importantly, what exactly is the legal basis for their objection to her abortion? She was already granted permission to get an abortion without parental consent from a state judge, but the government has refused to allow her permission to travel to a clinic. She is neither asking for the government to provide her transportation to the clinic nor pay for the abortion itself.

They have no legitimate right to do this. It is not within the mandate of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Administration of Child and Family Services nor the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Yet, each of these agencies, and the people running them (all men by the way) seem to think they know what’s in the best interest of this young woman more than she does.

These anti-abortion crusaders are holding this woman captive and forcing her into motherhood. She is an undocumented immigrant minor—here without a sponsor. That is a status under immigration law but that does not define her nor take away her agency or personhood.

There are states that allow 17 year olds to marry, yet the government seems to think this woman isn’t capable of making her own reproductive decisions? This is shameful, cruel and something that should never happen in a civilized society.

But how civilized are we really? This is the same society that bred enslaved persons for labor. It would seem that in 2017 we would have progressed beyond this kind of thinking and behavior. Women have always been alienated and demonized so that’s not new. But thanks to this administration, in 9 months we’ve regressed so much that it’s now policy to force women to give birth to babies they don’t want. And the government will now take you to court over it.