Although Missouri legislation for years has forbidden any tax payer funds from paying for abortions in any way, Missouri corrections officials were ordered by a federal court last month to transport a female inmate to an abortion facility. Now, Missouri lawmakers are lobbying to permanently ban the transportation of female inmates to abortion clinics.

After the case of Missouri inmate Jane Doe (whose real name was not released) went through a number of courts and appeals processes, the case finally reached the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case, letting the ruling of the lower court stand. By electing not to hear the case, the court effectively ruled on behalf of Jane Doe and allowed the transportation to take place.

“As the Jane Doe case shows, very simply, women do not give up their right to an abortion when they enter prisons any more than they give up their right to carry a child to term,” says Jenny Nevins, a lawyer representing Jane Doe from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). “I think that the Supreme Court has clearly stated – and the state of Missouri has recognized – that the state cannot impose an undo burden on a woman who is seeking an abortion.”

But the state of Missouri, which is widely known as a conservative state when it comes to abortion, are now developing a policy that would specifically bar transportation from corrections facilities to abortion clinics.

“Certainly, we will always do what the court orders us to do,” says John Fougere, Missouri Department of Corrections Public Information Officer. “At the same time, however, we believe our new policy is a sound one. We are in the process of appealing these court decisions - and we will mount a vigorous challenge to defend our policy.”

State Legislature and Prison Policy

Since 1992, Missouri's prison policy, approved by former Governor John Ashcroft (R), stated that female inmates must be transported to abortion clinics where the inmate paid for the procedure and the state paid for transportation. But this summer, state politicians started to re-examine a state statute that said no taxpayer funds should go towards an abortion unless it could be proven the carrier of the child was at a serious health risk if she carried to term.

Missouri's Department of Corrections (DOC) Director Larry Crawford saw a conflict between the state legislation and the prison policy. While the state statute clearly stated that no public funding could go towards an abortion, prison policy maintained that female inmates must have transportation to an abortion clinic – therefore, the state was paying, in a roundabout way, for abortions. The discrepancy was resolved, officials thought, when the new policy was implemented in July, revoking the DOC's transfer of inmates to abortion clinics.

Then, shortly after the change in policy, Vandalia prison inmate Jane Doe filed her lawsuit against the DOC for failing to transport her to an abortion clinic. Although Jane Doe's case was successful at the U.S. District Court level, a number of appeals were filed, which postponed her case and, subsequently, her abortion.

Finally, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas executed a stay of verdict on the case, ordering corrections officials not to transport Jane Doe until the Supreme Court could issue a decision in the case. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case, and reverted to the ruling of the lower court which required the Missouri DOC to transport Jane Doe without any further delays.

Jane Doe's ACLU lawyers see this as an important victory in the case and are pleased with the outcome.

“This woman, in order to find us, was delayed and delayed and delayed by the state and ultimately rejected by the state,” says Nevins. “She had to go to extraordinary measures during this. Given the extraordinary efforts she went through to get someone to help her with this case, I am pleased with the results of this case.”

Future Policy

Now that Jane Doe's case has been decided, Missouri is lobbying for the new policy to permanently ban transportation to abortion clinics, the DOC is quick to point out that the changes were not just adopted for abortion procedures.

“To be fair, we stopped transporting inmates to funerals and non-medical procedures,” says Fougere. “There are two concerns with the abortion cases though. First, it costs $350 per transportation for the officers escorting the inmate, plus fuel costs. Second, we are concerned about security. We're using staff to transfer inmates, and it takes a full eight hours to do that. That means that there are two officers who are not at the facility, and we have to juggle scheduling just to make sure all posts are covered.”

Prison officers are also concerned that other inmates who had severe medical needs would have their medical care postponed as a result of the lack in staff.

Human rights organizations are concerned that if the new policy is approved, it could set a new precedent for inmate abortions that undermine women's rights in prison – in Missouri and elsewhere.

“The Missouri prison's conduct here is counter to federal prison law policy, it's counter to long-standing policy in Missouri – which said they were required to supply transportation – and it's counter to policy in any other prison system in the country,” says Nevins. “There is no case which supports a total bar to prisoner access to abortion. I think the law is clear that a prisoner retains this right – and if the court declares otherwise, it would be an unprecedented restriction on women's rights.”

However, supporters of the new policy disagree.

“I'm not sure what the courts will allow us to do,” says Patti Skain, Executive Director of Missouri's Right to Life organization. “But we need to look at this situation not just legally. The people of Missouri do not believe that public funding should go towards abortions. It's just that simple.”

According to Nevins, the picture is broader than one state's legislation. She believes that too many women have already been caught up in unnecessary litigation and, in effect, been denied their rights.

“There have been other cases like this, unfortunately,” Nevins says. “Jane Doe had to go to extraordinary efforts to have someone help her with this case. Given those extraordinary measures, I am impressed with my client's persistence in this case. I know there are other women in my client's situation who have suffered from this problem and were blocked and rejected by the state. Some women have been forced to wait so long, due to appeals and legal processes, that they were no longer eligible for an abortion under their state guidelines. They were effectively stripped of their choice.”

Nevins adds that as a response to Missouri's attempts to permanently bar inmate transportation to abortion clinics, the ACLU has asked the court to certify a class action suit to challenge the policy on a permanent basis. While Nezins is not sure of what the outcome will be, she plans to continue to fight for the reproductive rights of inmates.