State officials in Nebraska had refused to grant an inmate’s request to have an abortion—but a federal judge on Monday overruled them. The woman—referred to as Jane Roe in court papers—became pregnant before her arrest and was facing a ticking clock: The Planned Parenthood clinic in Lincoln will only perform abortions up to 16 weeks and six days, which is 10 days away. The court ordered prison authorities to take the woman to the clinic on Monday for a state-mandated counseling session before Tuesday’s procedure. Nebraska’s prison rules say “no abortion services shall be provided to patients and no public funds shall be expended”—but the jail also had a rule that prevented the family from paying for the procedure in time for the woman to have one.
