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| Judge Certifies Class-Action Lawsuit |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 12/05/2005 |
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More than five weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court said Missouri had to let a pregnant inmate have an abortion, the question over whether other state prisoners can get abortions on demand is far from settled. U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple this week certified the woman's case against the Department of Corrections as a class-action lawsuit, saying she will represent all current and future Missouri inmates wanting abortions in seeking to overturn a state policy against helping prisoners get the procedure. In his order, filed in Kansas City last week, Whipple said that three more inmates have requested abortions since his initial ruling in October. Republican Gov. Matt Blunt appealed Whipple's ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to intervene. At issue was the state's abandonment this summer of a long-standing policy of providing transportation and guards for inmates wanting abortions, leaving an exception only if a woman's life or health is endangered. The state cited costs and security concerns. Roe, serving a four-year sentence, said she discovered she was pregnant not long after being arrested during the summer for probation violations in California. She challenged the Missouri Department of Corrections' policy, arguing it was an unconstitutional violation of her right to an abortion. Whipple agreed, approving a preliminary injunction against the policy and ordering corrections officials to take her to a St. Louis clinic for the procedure. Roe said she would pay for the abortion itself but couldn't pay for the transportation and guard salaries, estimated at $350. Blunt's office spearheaded appeals of Whipple's ruling, denouncing what the governor called "an outrageous order from an activist federal judge." After the Supreme Court's decision to let the injunction stand, the inmate had an abortion on Oct. 20. Last week, Blunt's office said it would continue defending the department's abortion policy. "We believe the decision to allow the abortion was highly offensive to traditional Missouri values and contrary to state law that prohibits the use of state dollars to facilitate abortions," said Blunt spokesman Spence Jackson. |
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