Supreme Court clears way for Mo. prisoner abortion
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (BP)--The U.S. Supreme Court Oct. 17 refused to get involved in a Missouri abortion case, clearing the way for a prison inmate there to obtain an abortion at least partly at state expense.
The Supreme Court's order came without comment on the merits of the case and without any recorded dissent, so it is not known how new Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts voted. Six of the court's nine members are on record as supporting the 1973 Roe v. Wade case legalizing abortion. One of those six, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, is retiring.
The high court takes only 100-150 of the 7,000-plus cases it is asked to hear each year.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear two abortion cases this term -- one concerning a parental notification law out of New Hampshire, the other concerning abortion protesters -- so Roberts' views on abortion restrictions will be known within a year.
The Missouri case involves an unidentified female prisoner who is approximately 17 weeks pregnant and has sought an abortion. But prison officials have refused to assist her, citing state law that prohibits state money from funding abortions.
Attorneys for the woman sued, and U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple Oct. 13 ruled that the state must assist her in acquiring the abortion. Upon appeal the Eighth Circuit refused to stop the abortion, but late Oct. 14 Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas -- who oversees emergency appeals from the 8th Circuit -- temporarily blocked the abortion, allowing the entire high court to have its say.
The Supreme Court's order Oct. 17 was only two sentences and said simply, "The application for stay presented to Justice Thomas and by him referred to the court is denied. The temporary stay entered October 14, 2005, is vacated."
The woman has said she would pay for the abortion but not for the transportation and the security guards needed to take her, the Associated Press reported. The transportation and guards are estimated to cost $350, AP said.
"I am extremely disappointed in the Supreme Court’s decision," Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, a Republican, said in a statement. "The decision is highly offensive to traditional Missouri values and is contrary to state law, which prohibits taxpayer dollars from being spent to facilitate abortions."
The woman said she discovered she was pregnant after being arrested in July, AP reported.
"Missouri law explicitly prohibits taxpayer-funded abortion services," said Kerry Messer, a lobbyist with the Missouri Baptist Convention's Christian Life Commission. "Gov. Blunt and [Missouri Department of Corrections] Director [Larry] Crawford have determined that transportation and security costs, provided by the department of corrections, associated with otherwise privately funded abortions for prison inmates still constitute a violation of our statutory ban on public funding for elective abortions."
Based on reporting by Michael Foust of Baptist Press and Allen Palmeri of The Pathway, newsjournal of the Missouri Baptist Convention.
