Case on inmate’s abortion certified as a class action

The latest on inmate abortions in Missouri:

KANSAS CITY (AP) - More than five weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court said Missouri had to let a pregnant inmate have an abortion, the question of 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 on Monday, Whipple said 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.

Attorneys for the inmate, referred to in court documents only as Jane Roe, didn’t immediately return phone calls for comment yesterday.

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.