The Kaiser Network:
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Friday issued a temporary stay of a federal judge's ruling that ordered Missouri Department of Corrections officials to transport a prison inmate to an abortion clinic in the state, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The inmate -- identified as "Jane Roe" in court papers -- has been pregnant for about 17 weeks and has been seeking an abortion for about seven weeks. The state corrections department in July adopted a policy barring the use of tax dollars to transport prisoners to undergo abortions. Attorneys for the inmate filed a lawsuit on Wednesday asking the court to order the state corrections department to take the woman to a clinic, and U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple on Thursday agreed to the request, saying that the woman has a constitutional right to have an abortion (Bell, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 10/16). Attorneys for the Missouri Office of the Attorney General appealed the ruling to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but the court on Friday did not overturn the ruling. Thomas -- who handles appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court -- ordered the temporary stay in the case pending a further decision by himself or the full court (Twiddy, AP/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 10/15). According to court papers, the woman -- who is being held at the Women's Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Vandalia, Mo. -- learned she was pregnant shortly after she was arrested in California for a Missouri parole violation. She says she attempted to undergo an abortion in California but was transferred back to Missouri before the surgery could be performed (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 10/16).Plenty of links contained therein for more information on the story.
Apparently, Thomas decided to give the case to the SCOTUS, because here is the latest AP News Alert:
WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court held Monday that the state of Missouri cannot stop a prison inmate's plan to have an abortion.As I understand it, in order for the Court to take a case, four justices have to want to take it.
So I ask again, would Miers have made a difference?
