The Trump Regime’s Handmaids

There are no words for the disgusting policies of the Trump regime but this one really will make you stomach turn:

In November 2018, Scott Lloyd was removed from his post at the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) after an ACLU lawsuit revealed he was reportedly mishandling abortion requests from migrant teenagers. Elite Daily reached out to the White House and ORR for comment, but did not hear back at the time of publication. As of March 2019, the former ORR director is back in the news as new documents reveal more details about his time managing the pregnant teenagers in his care. [..]

In June 2018, research and communications organization American Bridge, which is committed to “holding Republicans accountable for their words and actions,” submitted a Freedom of Information Act request when it was reported by The New York Times that Lloyd kept a spreadsheet of pregnant minors in his care. Elite Daily reached out to the White House and ORR for comment on the reported spreadsheet, but did not hear back at the time of publication. The American Bridge website noted that the FOIA demanded information on pregnant women and missing babies and girls in Lloyd’s care. American Bridge finally got a response and procured those documents. On March 15, 2019, The Rachael Maddow Show revealed what was in them.

According to Maddow, the documents reportedly reveal a harrowing story. Lloyd’s spreadsheet reportedly tracked the pregnant minors in his care, aged 12-17. It looked at whether or not they asked for an abortion, how far along they were in their pregnancies, and their menstrual cycles, which was misspelled as “menstral cycle” in the spread sheet (Not for nothing, but if you can’t even correctly spell the method you’re using to track how far along someone is in their pregnancy to prevent an abortion, maybe you shouldn’t be the one in charge of their reproductive health.) According to a report from The New York Times, Lloyd asked his staff for a weekly spreadsheet that “tells him about any unaccompanied minors who have asked for [an abortion] and how far along they are in their pregnancy.” When a girl was in need of counseling, Lloyd’s office would call on people from “life affirming” pregnancy centers. The White House and ORR did not respond to Elite Daily’s request for comment on the reports of Lloyd’s time as ORR director.

Brigitte Amiri, ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project senior staff attorney, joins to discuss details of the case with Rachel.

Watching President Donald Trump’s Twitter feuds with everyone from North Korea to Gold Star families is an embarrassing (and sometimes terrifying) sideshow for the entire country. But for women who need access to basic health care, the real danger is in the president’s appointees.

Scott Lloyd, the head of the Trump administration’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), is just one example of why Trump’s appointees are so dangerous. [..]

Lloyd appeared at a House oversight hearing after a month during which this administration brought the full weight of the federal government to bear against a pregnant, undocumented 17-year-old in Texas, attempting to block her from getting the abortion that is her right. While justice finally prevailed for Jane Doe, her case revealed just how frighteningly far the Trump administration’s abuse of power and disregard of the Constitution extends.

As the office that oversees federally funded facilities that house refugees — including the one that’s housing Jane Doe — ORR is required to provide undocumented and unaccompanied minors with basic needs like food, shelter, and health care, including contraception and access to abortion.

Yet, Lloyd inserted his personal beliefs into government policy, insisting that he be personally notified if any unaccompanied minor is seeking an abortion. He is actively engaged in preventing unaccompanied minors in the care of ORR from accessing abortion services. His pursuit of policies and personal practices designed to impose his views on young woman after young woman, denying them access to health care and constitutional rights is outrageous and wrong.

Because 60-80 percent of unaccompanied minors have suffered sexual assault, discovering a pregnancy upon arrival is not unusual. Jane Doe decided she wanted an abortion. As she said, “I knew immediately what was best for me then, as I do now – that I’m not ready to be a parent.” After making her decision, she overcame the many obstacles put in her path by Texas law.

But Lloyd and the Trump administration, were determined to stand in the way of her constitutional rights, using every tool at their disposal to prevent her from accessing the abortion she had a right to. Lloyd substituted his judgment for hers and for the court’s.

The most terrifying part is Lloyd can do this to countless other young women under his so-called “care” at ORR. Last year alone, 59,692 minors were referred to ORR. We don’t know how many are being denied care and rights, coerced and shamed for their decisions, and even denied the ability to see a lawyer.

Lloyd is ignoring these rights. That’s unsurprising, given his long history of anti-contraception and anti-abortion advocacy.  Prior to joining ORR, Lloyd was an attorney for the Knights of Columbus and served on the board of the Front Royal Pregnancy Center, a “crisis pregnancy center” in Virginia that aims to dissuade women from seeking an abortion.

He has suggested that women receiving contraception through federal funding should have to sign a “pledge” promising not to have an abortion and that the Supreme Court’s rulings on abortion infringe on men’s “right to procreation.”

The administration is full of Scott Lloyds. [..]

This administration has been hell-bent on attacking women’s health and rights from day one. These latest actions reveal the clear disdain this administration has for a woman’s right to control her own body and its hostility towards immigrants, particularly immigrants of color.

During the hearing today, Lloyd appeared with four other officials who oversee young women like Jane Doe. All of them were white men. These are the people deciding our fate.

Now, in this country, it is dangerous to be anything but one of them.

Where is Scott Lloyd now? In his current position with the Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives, Lloyd can help choose which religious groups get support for health program grants. The Center’s led by a religious activist, Shannon Royce, who’s working to restrict access to abortion and encourage anti-LGBTQ discrimination in health care access.

This administration is full of these sick, twisted individuals, male and female alike. Voters need to drain this cess pool.