Appeals Court Requires Access to Abortions for Prison Inmates
Ruling on the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a federal appeals court held yesterday that Missouri must provide transportation to prison inmates seeking abortions.
The ruling by the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturns a policy by Gov. Matt Blunt that had restricted inmates’ access to abortions, the Kansas City Star reports.
Other appeals courts have split on the issue, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
State officials had argued that the private right to terminate a pregnancy under the 14th Amendment does not survive incarceration. They also argued they could bar transportation for abortions since inmates could schedule the procedure before entering prison.
The state corrections department “points to no authority, and we find none, indicating the Supreme Court has determined a right may be entirely eliminated during incarceration, simply because the right could have been exercised before imprisonment,” Judge William Jay Riley wrote in the opinion (PDF).
