Arizona Appeals Court Upholds Ruling That State County Sheriff's Policy Of Limiting Abortion Access For Pregnant Inmates Is Unconstitutional

A three-judge panel of Arizona Court of Appeals on Tuesday unanimously upheld a lower court ruling that said a Maricopa County policy requiring deputies to transport inmates to medical facilities for abortions only when they are medically necessary posed an unconstitutional burden on the woman, the AP/Tucson Citizen reports (Davenport, AP/Tucson Citizen, 1/24). Current Arizona law forbids state tax dollars from being used to pay for abortion procedures, but the law does not include language about transporting women to an abortion clinic. In May 2004, while detained at Estrella Jail, an unnamed inmate sought an abortion that she had already scheduled and for which she had already paid. Under the Maricopa County policy, deputies refused to bring her to the clinic without a court order. After being denied two court orders, the woman was granted a temporary restraining order against the county policy and had an abortion. The American Civil Liberties Union in October 2004 challenged the policy. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Barry Schneider in August 2005 ruled the county policy unconstitutional (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/21/05).

Ruling, Reaction
"While we recognize that the county might decline to transport an inmate who presents a particular security or liability concern, an indiscriminate ban on all transportation for nontherapeutic abortions does not allow inmates sufficient alternative means to exercise their right to choose to have an abortion," Judge Patrick Irvine wrote in the opinion for the appellate court panel. The ruling said that the county's policy violates the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and is an "exaggerated response" to the necessities of running a prison, given that inmates are routinely transported to other facilities for medical services or for other purposes (AP/Tucson Citizen, 1/24). Brigitte Amiri, an attorney representing the ACLU, said, "This court has recognized what the courts have said all along: A woman does not give up her right to have an abortion any more than she gives up her right to have a child" once she is incarcerated. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said he plans to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court (Berry, Arizona Republic, 1/24).

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