A federal judge has sided with a female inmate at the state prison in Vandalia over whether the Corrections Department has to take her to get an abortion. The prisoner, identified only as Jane Roe, had argued the policy of not allowing prisoners to be taken to a clinic for abortions violated her rights. Federal Judge Dean Whipple of Kansas City agreed and ordered state officials to take her for the abortion as early as today. Scott Holste is a spokesman for the Attorney General’s office says Whipple’s decision is being appealed to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but he’s not sure when a decision would be rendered.
