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Pregnant inmate changes her mind, no longer wishes to abort her child

Jul 30, 2015

By Dave Andrusko

LauderdaleCoDA  An unidentified Alabama prisoner who went to federal court to force authorities to allow her to leave jail to have an abortion has changed her mind.

In a sworn statement filed Wednesday on behalf of a woman known only as “Jane Doe,” she wrote, “After much consideration and counsel, I … have decided that I no longer desire to pursue an abortion procedure and intend to carry the unborn child to full term and birth,” the Associated Press’ Jay Reeves reported.

Her decision brings to a close a tumultuous week and a half.

The Lauderdale County prisoner, represented by the ACLU, brought a lawsuit July 20 against Sheriff Rick Singleton. Following a Monday hearing in federal court in Huntsville, U.S. District Judge Aldual Kallon said he would

rule by this Friday. A guardian ad litem was appointed to represent the unborn baby in the hearing on the petition.

The Lauderdale County District Attorney had opposed the woman’s request. Chris Connolly asked a juvenile court judge to terminate her parental rights, saying Tuesday that “Our position is if the termination for parental rights is granted, is that (the mother) would not have standing to obtain the abortion.”

Connolly told the AP via an email that he “filed the request on the state’s behalf.”

Randall Marshall, legal director of the ACLU of Montgomery, who represented “Jane Doe” in a federal court case, countered, “Even if the (termination of parental rights) petition goes forward, it cannot override a favorable decision from Judge Kallon.” He added, “It is her constitutional right [to have an abortion].”

In her lawsuit, the inmate said she was in the first trimester of her pregnancy. She said she learned of her pregnancy before she was sent to jail but was unable to obtain an abortion.

There was no explanation in court papers why the woman was in jail but Connolly said she is an adult.

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