FLORENCE, Ala. — A federal judge ordered a hearing Thursday after an Alabama prisoner dropped her request to be allowed a trip out of jail to obtain an abortion.
U.S. District Judge Abdul Kallon told authorities to have the woman in court for a hearing Friday morning in Florence.
Kallon issued the order after the woman, identified only as Jane Doe in court papers, filed a sworn statement saying she had changed her mind and no longer wants out of the Lauderdale County jail to end her pregnancy.
She earlier filed a federal lawsuit against the sheriff claiming authorities were violating her constitutional rights by refusing an abortion.
The woman changed her position after the state went to court seeking to terminate her parental rights. Authorities said such a move would prevent the woman from deciding whether she wants the abortion.