Case 3:15-cv-01215-AKK Document 1 Filed 07/20/15 Page 1 of 7 FILED 2015 Jul-20 PM 04:13 U.S. DISTRICT COURT N.D. OF ALABAMA IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA Jane Doe, vs. Plaintiff, Rick Singleton, in his official capacity as Sheriff of Lauderdale County, Alabama, Defendant. COMPLAINT EMERGENCY RELIEF SOUGHT This is an action brought under 42 U.S.C. 1983 for declaratory and emergency injunctive relief, alleging that Defendant has violated and continues to violate Plaintiff s Fourteenth Amendment right to an abortion and her Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment. Plaintiff is contemporaneously filing a Motion and Memorandum of Law for Leave to Proceed Under Pseudonym, and a Motion and Memorandum of Law for Expedited Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunctive Relief. All facts are supported by Plaintiff s Declaration, appended as Exhibit 1 to the Motion for Emergency Injunctive Relief, which is being contemporaneously filed.
Case 3:15-cv-01215-AKK Document 1 Filed 07/20/15 Page 2 of 7 INTRODUCTION As the United States Supreme Court has made clear, a woman has a fundamental right to decide whether or not to bear a child. This right survives incarceration. A jail may not, therefore, deny an inmate the right to obtain a timely, safe, and legal termination of pregnancy. Additionally, denying an inmate access to medical care for the purpose of terminating her pregnancy constitutes deliberate indifference to an inmate s serious medical needs in violation of the Eighth Amendment s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment as applied to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment. Plaintiff is an inmate at the Lauderdale County Jail, and is in her first trimester of pregnancy. Defendant, the Sheriff of Lauderdale County, has denied Plaintiff s request for either a medical furlough or supervised transport to obtain an abortion, directing her instead to seek a court order. Plaintiff seeks emergency declaratory and injunctive relief to order Defendant to grant her a medical furlough or supervised release to obtain an abortion. As set forth below, Plaintiff is securing private financing to pay for the procedure, as well as transport to the clinic, if she is granted a medical furlough rather than supervised transport. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 1. Plaintiff s claims arise under the Constitution and laws of the United States. This Court has jurisdiction over these claims under 28 U.S.C. 1331, 1343(a)(3), and authority to grant declaratory and injunctive relief under 28 U.S.C. 2201-2202 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 57 and 65. The federal rights asserted by Plaintiff are enforceable under 42 U.S.C. 1983. 2. Venue is proper in this Court under 28 U.S.C. 1391(e). Plaintiff is confined in the Lauderdale County Jail, in Florence, Alabama, where she is suffering from the deprivation of her constitutional rights. 2
Case 3:15-cv-01215-AKK Document 1 Filed 07/20/15 Page 3 of 7 PARTIES 3. Plaintiff Jane Doe is an adult inmate in the Lauderdale County Jail, where she has resided at all times material to this action. 4. She poses no flight risk. 5. Plaintiff is, at the time of this filing, in her first trimester of pregnancy, and has been denied, by Defendant, her constitutional right to choose to terminate her pregnancy. Plaintiff chooses to terminate her pregnancy and has actively sought and been denied medical furlough or supervised transport for that purpose. 6. Defendant Rick Singleton is the Sheriff of Lauderdale County, and is the ultimate decision-maker as to matters relating to the operation of the Lauderdale County Jail. 7. At all times material to this action, Defendant was acting under color of state law and his actions constitute state action. This Complaint and the contemporaneously filed Motion for Emergency Declaratory and Injunctive Relief seek relief against Defendant in his official capacity. FACTS 8. Plaintiff learned she was pregnant prior to her incarceration and attempted to obtain an abortion before she was confined. 9. When she was admitted into the jail, she received a pregnancy test that confirmed her pregnancy. At that time she requested access to abortion. 10. Her current release date is unknown. 11. The closest abortion provider is in Huntsville, Alabama, which provides abortion up to 21.6 weeks. 3
Case 3:15-cv-01215-AKK Document 1 Filed 07/20/15 Page 4 of 7 12. Although abortions performed by health care providers are safe throughout a pregnancy, the risks and cost increase as the pregnancy progresses. 13. On July 10, 2015, Plaintiff requested, in writing, a medical furlough or supervised transport to obtain an abortion. 14. The Defendant denied the request on July 13, 2015, in a letter stating, It is the policy of this office that all non-emergency services are provided through our medical staff at the jail. Your request cannot be handled by our staff and on its face, it does not constitute a medical emergency. Therefore, a Court Order will be required directing the Lauderdale County Sheriff s Department to transport you to Huntsville, Alabama, for the stated purpose. 15. The district attorney of Lauderdale County has stated that he opposes Plaintiff s request for an abortion. 16. Plaintiff has a constitutional right to access safe, timely, and legal abortion services. This right cannot be conditioned upon petitioning a court for relief, which may take an indeterminate amount of time, and which may effectively veto the woman s abortion decision. 17. Time is of the essence when seeking access to abortion. Not only do the risks and costs increase as the pregnancy progresses, but a woman s right to abortion will evaporate altogether if she is pushed passed the legal limit for an abortion. 18. Defendant s denial of Plaintiff s request for a medical furlough or supervised transport to obtain a safe, timely, and legal abortion are not reasonably related to legitimate penological interests. 19. The Plaintiff is securing private financing for the abortion, and transport to the abortion clinic. 4
Case 3:15-cv-01215-AKK Document 1 Filed 07/20/15 Page 5 of 7 CLAIMS FOR RELIEF FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT VIOLATION: 42 U.S.C. 1983 20. Plaintiff incorporates, by reference, all previous allegations in this Complaint. 21. A state actor may not prohibit any woman from making the ultimate decision to terminate her pregnancy before viability. 22. By preventing Plaintiff from obtaining medical services to terminate her pregnancy, Defendant, who is a state actor, is depriving Plaintiff of her constitutional rights guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Defendant is outright obstructing and preventing Plaintiff from exercising her constitutional right, under the Fourteenth Amendment, to terminate her pregnancy. The deprivation of Plaintiff s rights may be redressed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983. EIGHTH AMENDMENT VIOLATION: 42 U.S.C. 1983 23. Plaintiff incorporates, by reference, all previous allegations in this Complaint. 24. Procedures to terminate pregnancy are a serious medical need, and prison officials display deliberate indifference when they prevent an inmate from obtaining medical services to terminate her pregnancy. 25. Defendant s denial of Plaintiff s requests for a medical furlough or supervised transport to obtain a safe, legal, and timely termination of her pregnancy constitute deliberate indifference to her serious medical needs. 26. While medical services to terminate a pregnancy at the Clinic remain safe throughout pregnancy, delay increases the risks to Plaintiff s health. 5
Case 3:15-cv-01215-AKK Document 1 Filed 07/20/15 Page 6 of 7 27. Defendant s deliberate indifference to Plaintiff s serious medical needs deprives her of her rights under the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The deprivation of Plaintiff s rights may be redressed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983. RELIEF REQUESTED Wherefore, Plaintiff requests the following relief: a. A declaration that Defendant s denials of Plaintiff s requests for a medical furlough or supervised transport to obtain an abortion violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as the denials violate her constitutionally protected right to terminate her pregnancy; b. A declaration that Defendant s denials of Plaintiff s requests for a medical furlough or supervised transport to obtain an abortion violate the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as the denials amount to deliberate indifference to a serious medical need; c. An emergency injunction, a motion for which is being contemporaneously filed, enjoining Defendant from denying Plaintiff s requests for a medical furlough or supervised transport for an abortion and ordering Defendant to grant Plaintiff s request immediately for both the abortion counseling visit and the abortion procedure; d. An award to Plaintiff of attorneys fees and costs pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1988; and e. Such other and further relief as this Court deems appropriate. Date: July 20, 2015 Respectfully submitted, s/ Randall C. Marshall _ Randall C. Marshall ASB-3023-A56M ACLU FOUNDATION OF ALABAMA, INC. 6
Case 3:15-cv-01215-AKK Document 1 Filed 07/20/15 Page 7 of 7 P.O. Box 6179 Montgomery, AL 36106-0179 rmarshall@aclualabama.org (334) 420-1741 Elizabeth Berry ASB-7319-H37B 205 S. Seminary Street, Ste. 219 Florence, Alabama 35630 (256) 762-1027 (256) 740-8203 (facsimile) eemberry3@gmail.com Brigitte Amiri* ACLU FOUNDATION New York Bar Number 3017167 125 Broad Street, 18th FL New York, NY 10004 bamiri@aclu.org 212-549-2633 Attorneys for the Plaintiff *Pro hac vice motion to be filed 7