LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday granted a Nebraska prisoner’s request for an abortion and ordered state officials to transport her to a clinic so she can get the procedure as scheduled on Tuesday.
Prison officials had rejected the woman’s request, prompting her to file a civil rights lawsuit on Friday with support from the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska.
U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Bataillon ordered prison officials to transport the inmate to a Planned Parenthood clinic in Lincoln for the abortion. The woman, identified in the lawsuit as Jane Roe, is a little more than 15 weeks pregnant and has been in prison since Feb. 18. She’s serving a 26-month sentence at the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women in York.
The Lincoln Planned Parenthood only offers abortions who are up to 16 1/2 weeks pregnant, according to the lawsuit. Before she can get the abortion, the inmate will have to undergo a state-mandated counseling session at least 24 hours before getting the procedure.
