“Justice Clarence Thomas, acting alone,” granted a temporary stay that blocks the right of a Missouri inmate to have an abortion. (MSNBC).
Lest we jump to conclusions, Judge Thomas handles appeals from “the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes Missouri. He could lift the stay over the weekend, after reviewing more legal arguments.” (However, I rather doubt he’ll lift the stay, and may take further action.)
The woman, who has said she will borrow money from family and friends to pay for the abortion, cannot raise enough to pay for transportation to the medical facility. The state of Missouri had balked at providing transportation because state law “forbids spending tax dollars to facilitate an abortion.” However, “U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple ruled Thursday that the prison system was blocking the woman from exercising her right to an abortion and ordered that the woman be taken to the clinic Saturday.” An appeals court Friday upheld Whipple’s ruling.
Judge Thomas’s stay holds, “pending a further decision by himself or the full court [SCOTUS].”
The woman’s attorney, James Felakos of the American Civil Liberties Union, said in court papers that the woman is running out of time because she is 16 weeks to 17 weeks pregnant, and Missouri bars abortions after 22 weeks.
In court papers, the woman said she discovered she was pregnant shortly after being arrested in California in July on a Missouri parole violation. She said she tried to get an abortion in California but was transferred back to Missouri before it could be performed.
I’m curious why it is that Clarence Thomas is in charge of the 8th circuit, and which states are in that circuit. I found a map, and am putting it up shortly. I also want to find a list of which justices cover which circuits — and I further want to know who decides those assignments. Are those assignments political? I.e., was Thomas given the 8th circuit because it’s a conservative area and he’ll back their more conservative rulings? The map is up — below the fold:
