Support the DeGette Amendment to the
FY 2002 Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations Bill
Dear Representative:
The ACLU urges you to support an amendment to be offered by Rep. Diana DeGette to the FY 2002 Commerce, Justice, State appropriations bill as soon as tomorrow. The amendment would strike a provision of the bill that prohibits use of federal funds to provide abortion services to women incarcerated in federal prisons, except when the pregnancy results from rape or endangers the woman's life.
The fundamental right to decide whether to bear a child survives incarceration. See Monmouth County Correctional Inst. Inmates v. Lanzaro, 834 F.2d 326 n.11 (3d Cir. 1987); see also Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 95-96 (1987). Most women in federal prison are indigent, have little or no access to outside financial assistance, and earn extremely low wages from prison jobs. Average prison wages ($4.80 -$16.00/week) are insufficient to pay for an abortion.
The ban in the FY 2002 CJS appropriations bill effectively bars pregnant federal inmates who lack independent financial means from exercising their constitutional right to choose abortion. It constitutes "deliberate indifference" to "serious medical needs" of pregnant inmates in violation of the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. See Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97 (1976).
The harms of forced pregnancy are magnified for incarcerated women. They are already at heightened risk for health problems and have access to fewer health services than they would have outside of prison. Even inmates who attempt to gather funds for an abortion face delays in accessing this care, and delay increases the costs and risks of the procedure.
The DeGette amendment would enable women who depend on the Bureau of Prisons for their health care to exercise a fundamental constitutional right. We urge you to support it.
Sincerely,
Laura W. Murphy
Director
Gregory T. Nojeim
Associate Director and Chief Legislative Counsel