Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge on Tuesday ruled that the Sheriff's Office cannot force jail inmates to prepay the cost of being transported to a clinic to obtain an abortion.

Judge Robert Oberbillig said he felt "compelled" to add the ruling to an existing injunction against the Sheriff's Office forbidding it from demanding court orders before taking inmates to abortion clinics.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio appealed that 2005 injunction all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to hear the case.

Then his office told another inmate that she would have to pay $300 to $600 in advance to cover the office's cost of transport and security before being taken to the clinic. If she wanted a waiver for the fee, she could get a court order. The woman was able to obtain funds for the transport. Still, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, which brought the initial suit, argued that the prepayment created another obstacle to a woman's right to obtain a timely abortion under the U.S. Constitution.

thanks to Lois at the Real Cost of Prisons Project for bringing my attention to this.