LAUDERDALE COUNTY, AL, July 22, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – An Alabama county sheriff is being sued in federal court by a pregnant inmate for denying her “civil right” to abort her unborn child.
Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton is named in the suit filed Monday, claiming he is violating the plaintiff’s rights and allowing cruel and unusual punishment.
The woman, identified only as Jane Doe, was aware of her pregnancy prior to being incarcerated, according to the lawsuit. The mother is in her first trimester, according to a WHNT-19 news report, and she tried to get an abortion before going to jail.
The suit claims Singleton has denied her request for medical furlough or supervised transport to an abortion facility, the nearest some 70-plus miles away in Huntsville. Singleton has instead directed her to seek a court order, saying that non-medical services are normally provided by the jail’s medial staff, and her situation does not constitute a medical emergency.
The lawsuit claims that Sheriff Singleton is violating Doe’s Fourteenth and Eighth Amendment rights by preventing her from “obtaining medical services to terminate her pregnancy,” the lawsuit says.
“Procedures to terminate pregnancy are a serious medical need,” it adds.
Although abortions performed by health care providers are safe throughout a pregnancy, the risks and cost increase as the pregnancy progresses,” it adds.
Attorneys are seeking an emergency injunction compelling Singleton to immediately grant Jane Doe’s request for both “abortion counseling” and “the abortion procedure.”
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The prisoner is represented by a local attorney and two lawyers from the ACLU, one from inside the state and the other from New York.