HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied the request by the Office of the Attorney General of Guam for summary reversal of a preliminary injunction against Guam’s in-person mandate for abortion.
The decision was filed Aug. 18 and states that the motion for summary reversal was denied without prejudice to “appellants renewing the arguments in the opening brief.”
This means there will now be a briefing on the request to lift the injunction. If the 9th Circuit had granted the Office of the AG’s request for “summary reversal,” that would have vacated the preliminary injunction without briefing or hearing arguments.
A chance to argue the merits of the appeal is part of what the opposing party in this case requested.
There is no doctor on Guam to perform abortion services, leaving off-island travel, which may be difficult for some, or telemedicine as the only alternatives for anyone wanting the procedure.
Guam law contains a consultation requirement that imposes a 24-hour waiting period on abortions and requires that a woman must be provided certain information “in person.”
Two Hawaii-based doctors licensed to practice on Guam, Dr. Shandhini Raidoo and Dr. Bliss Kaneshiro, challenged the in-person mandate last year at the District Court of Guam. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of the doctors.
According to the lawsuit, the mandate makes it impossible to administer medication abortion through telemedicine.
The District Court ordered that local officials be temporarily enjoined from enforcing the mandate as the case proceeded, allowing telemedicine abortions to take place for the time being.
The Guam Office of the AG appealed the decision at the 9th Circuit.
Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which revoked the right to an abortion in the United States, the OAG filed a motion for summary reversal.
Lawyers for the Hawaii doctors said the 9th Circuit should deny the OAG’s request, and instead set a briefing schedule to argue the merits of the OAG appeal or keep the preliminary injunction in place while remanding the issue to the District Court to consider whether alternative grounds for an injunction exist.
With the 9th Circuit decision now in tow, the OAG has until Sept. 14 to file an opening brief arguing why the injunction should be lifted. The answer from the opposing party is due Oct. 12 and an optional reply brief from the government due 21 days after that.
Despite the restriction in law on telemedicine abortion, the procedure itself remains legal on Guam, as opined by Attorney General Leevin Camacho. The attorney general also has stated that as a result of the Dobbs decision, policies on abortion must be decided by lawmakers.
However, as OAG spokeswoman Carlina Charfauros stated, the job of the OAG is to defend current statute. And that includes the “in-person” mandate still in law.
Myra Lacuata, from Sinajana, left, and Riley Purcell, from Sånta Rita-Sumai, join dozens of people who gathered for the Rally for Roe on July 6, 2022 at the ITC intersection in Tamuning, Guam.