Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge ordered a hearing Thursday after an Alabama prisoner dropped her request to be allowed a trip out of jail to obtain an abortion.
U.S. District Judge Abdul Kallon told authorities to have the woman in court for a hearing Friday morning in Florence.
Kallon issued the order after the woman, identified only as Jane Doe in court papers, filed a sworn statement saying she had changed her mind and no longer wants out of the Lauderdale County jail to end her pregnancy.
She earlier filed a federal lawsuit against the sheriff claiming authorities were violating her constitutional rights by refusing an abortion.
The woman changed her position after the state went to court seeking to terminate her parental rights. Authorities said such a move would prevent the woman from deciding whether she wants the abortion.
Randall Marshall, an American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama lawyer who represents the woman in the abortion request, said he believes the hearing is to determine whether the woman changed her mind voluntarily and on her own.
The woman's statement was filed by Maurice McCaney, identified in court papers as an attorney who was appointed by a state judge to represent her in the state's attempt to take away her parental rights.
McCaney, who practices family law and also is listed as chancellor of a private Christian academy in Florence, did not return phone messages or emails seeking comment. But the woman's statement said she changed her mind on her own without pressure or being placed under duress.
The Lauderdale County prisoner originally filed a federal lawsuit last week against a local sheriff seeking a court order that would clear the way for an abortion. A federal judge had said he would rule by Friday on her request.
In the meantime, the state filed suit to terminate her parental rights over the unborn child.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
