Goodwin v. Turner

• Decision Date: 25 September 1990
• Docket Number: No. 89-1101WM,89-1101WM
• Citation: 908 F.2d 1395
• Parties: Steven J. GOODWIN, Appellant, v. C.A. TURNER, Warden, U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners; George Wilkerson, Regional Director, Bureau of Prisons; Director Quinlan, Bureau of Prisons; Edwin Meese, Attorney General, Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 1395

908 F.2d 1395

Steven J. GOODWIN, Appellant, v. C.A. TURNER, Warden, U.S. Medical Center for Federal

Prisoners; George Wilkerson, Regional Director, Bureau of

Prisons; Director Quinlan, Bureau of Prisons; Edwin Meese,

Attorney General, Appellees.

No. 89-1101WM.

United States Court of Appeals,

Eighth Circuit.

Submitted Jan. 18, 1990.

Decided July 17, 1990.

Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc

Denied Sept. 25, 1990.

Ronald L. Kuby, New York City, for appellant.

Richard E. Monroe, Springfield, Mo., for appellees.

Before McMILLIAN and MAGILL, Circuit Judges, and HANSON, ^* Senior District Judge.

MAGILL, Circuit Judge.

Steven J. Goodwin appeals the district court's ¹ order denying his petition for writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2241. Goodwin, a federal prisoner incarcerated in Missouri, argues that the Bureau of Prison's (Bureau's) refusal to allow him to ejaculate into a clean container so that his semen could be used to artificially inseminate his wife violates his constitutional right to procreate. The district court rejected Goodwin's claim holding that because the right to procreate is fundamentally inconsistent with incarceration, it does not survive incarceration. Goodwin v. Turner, 702 F.Supp. 1452, 1453 (W.D.Mo.1988). This is a case of first impression. However, we need not reach that issue because, even assuming Goodwin's right to procreate survives incarceration, the Bureau's restriction is reasonably related to its legitimate penological interest of treating all prisoners equally, to the extent possible. Therefore, we affirm, albeit on other grounds.

I.

Goodwin is a prisoner incarcerated at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri (Medical Center), pursuant to a lawful criminal conviction. ² His wife, who is currently thirty years old, is not incarcerated. Despite Goodwin's imprisonment, they desire to conceive a child. They do not want to delay conception until his release because of their concern about the increased risk of birth defects as a result of increasing maternal age. Goodwin will be eligible for parole on September 2, 1991. His latest release date is February 26, 1995. However, prison authorities have stated that The overall risk for all age groups of giving birth to a child with Down's syndrome or a chromosomal abnormality is 1 in 650 and 1 in 200 to 300, respectively. At the time of Goodwin's parole eligibility, Goodwin's wife will be thirty-one years old. Her risk of having a child with Down's syndrome or a chromosomal abnormality will be 1 in 500 to 700 and 1 in 300, respectively. The chances of her having a genetically healthy baby will be 997 out of 1000.

there is "good reason to believe [Goodwin] will be released closer to his parole eligibility date [than his latest release date]." Joint Appendix at 42.

At the time of Goodwin's latest release date in 1995, his wife will be thirty-five years old. Her risk of having a child born with Down's syndrome or a chromosomal abnormality will be 1 in 450 and 1 in 225, respectively. Therefore, her chances of having a genetically health baby will be 995 out of 1000. ³

On June 8, 1987, Goodwin requested authorization and assistance from prison officials so that he could artificially inseminate his wife. In refusing permission, prison authorities stated that the Bureau had no program or provisions for implementing his request. Goodwin appealed this decision but his requests were similarly denied.

On August 17, 1987, Goodwin filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to Sec. 2241. He sought a court order to force the prison authorities: (1) to grant him permission "to produce acceptable semen for impregnation of his wife"; (2) to allow several doctors from the University of Missouri School of Medicine, or other accredited doctors, such as his personal doctor and, at most, one medical assistant to enter the institution "for the purpose of properly collecting [his] semen under safe and sanitary procedures and for freezing said semen in the proper manner"; (3) to give him tests to ensure he was free of sexually transmitted diseases including the HIV virus; ⁴ and (4) to refrain from transferring him to any other institution until the dispute was fully resolved. Joint Appendix at 6. Goodwin did inform prison officials that he would bear all financial costs of the procedure. Id. at 3. On September 17, 1987, Goodwin further suggested that instead of bringing doctors into the prison, the prison officials could make arrangements for one of the Bureau contract hospitals in Springfield to perform the procedure. Id. at 25.

On November 18, 1987, the magistrate recommended granting Goodwin's petition, in part, holding that his right to bear or beget children survives his incarceration. Goodwin v. Turner, No. 87-3488-CV-S-WRC, slip op. at 3 (W.D.Mo. Nov. 18, 1987). The magistrate further stated that the prison's denial of Goodwin's request for artificial insemination on the ground that it did not have a program or provision for his request violated his right to due process. Therefore, the magistrate recommended that Goodwin submit his request in a clear and detailed fashion so that prison officials could either accommodate his request or make specific objections thereto.

In response to the magistrate's report, the executive staff of the Bureau adopted a policy statement regarding artificial insemination. The statement provides in part that

sound correctional policy dictates against allowing inmates to artificially inseminate another person.... [I]f [artificial insemination were] allowed in one case, all of [the Bureau's] institutions would either have to develop collection, handling, and storage procedures for semen or be opened up to private medical or technical persons to come in to collect the semen. This situation would either require a significant drain on resources or create significant security risks, especially Joint Appendix at 36-37.

in connection with inmates with a high security classification.... The Bureau strives, to the extent possible, to treat all inmates equally. Therefore, in connection with indigent inmates, the Executive Staff felt that the Bureau would be in the position of having to either provide or pay for these services for these inmates and, with respect to female inmates, to significantly expand the medical services available.

After the magistrate issued its opinion and the Bureau announced its policy, Goodwin again changed his proposal. He argued to the district court and argues to us now that he is seeking only an order that the Bureau "provide [him] with a clean container in which to deposit his ejaculate, and a means of swiftly transporting the ejaculate outside the prison." Appellant's Brief at 10. Goodwin argues that because his wife could inject the semen herself with a clean pipette or syringe in a prison bathroom or a nearby hotel, outside personnel would not have to enter the institution to assist in the process. ⁵

After reviewing the record "with utmost scrutiny," the district court denied Goodwin's petition, holding that "he does not have a fundamental constitutional right to father a child through artificial insemination that survives incarceration." Goodwin v. Turner, 702 F.Supp. at 1453 (W.D.Mo.1988). It is from this order that Goodwin appeals.

II.

The right to procreate has been consistently recognized as a fundamental right. See Carey v. Population Services Int'l, 431 U.S. 678, 685, 97 S.Ct. 2010, 2016, 52 L.Ed.2d 675 (1976); Stanley v. Illinois, 405 U.S. 645, 651, 92 S.Ct. 1208, 1212, 31 L.Ed.2d 551 (1972); Skinner v. Oklahoma, 316 U.S. 535, 536, 541, 62 S.Ct. 1110, 1111, 1113, 86 L.Ed. 1655 (1942). Because "no 'iron curtain' separates" prisoners from the Constitution, Hudson v. Palmer, 468 U.S. 517, 523, 104 S.Ct. 3194, 3198, 82 L.Ed.2d 393 (1983) (quoting Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 555, 94 S.Ct. 2963, 2974, 41 L.Ed.2d 935 (1974)), a prison inmate " 'retains those [constitutional] rights that are not inconsistent with his status as a prisoner or with the legitimate penological objectives of the corrections system.' " Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 95, 107 S.Ct. 2254, 2265, 96 L.Ed.2d 64 (1987) (quoting Pell v. Procunier, 417 U.S. 817, 822, 94 S.Ct. 2800, 2804, 41 L.Ed.2d 495 (1974)). Goodwin argues that the district court erred in holding that the fundamental right to procreate does not survive incarceration. We need not decide whether Goodwin's right to procreate by means of artificial insemination actually survives incarceration. Even assuming, without deciding, that the exercise of Goodwin's right to procreate is not fundamentally inconsistent with his status as a prisoner, the restriction imposed by the Bureau is reasonably related to achieving its legitimate penological interest. To this issue we now turn.

A.

We must first ascertain the appropriate standard for reviewing prison restrictions on an inmate's fundamental constitutional right. Goodwin argues that we must review such a restriction under a standard of strict scrutiny. We disagree. In Washington v. Harper, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 1028, 108 L.Ed.2d 178 (1990), ⁶ the Supreme Court explained that the "proper standard for determining the validity of a prison regulation claimed to infringe on an inmate's constitutional rights is to ask whether the regulation is 'reasonably related to legitimate penological interests.' " Id. --- U.S. at ----, 110 S.Ct. at 1037 (quoting Turner, 482 U.S. at 89, 107 S.Ct. at 2261). The Court held that this standard must be applied even when the "constitutional right claimed to have been infringed is fundamental, and the State under other circumstances would have been required to We reject, as without merit, Goodwin's argument that because the prison regulation has a direct impact on his wife's right to procreate, it should be subject to strict scrutiny. We cannot subject prison regulations to strict scrutiny...