Creators
April 29, 2024
The United States has the second highest rate
worldwide of incarcerated women. In recent decades, there has been a dramatic
increase in U.S. correctional population, and women are a rapidly growing
segment of that population. The U.S. incarcerates about 65 out of every 100,000
women, according to The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the
Law.
Most women who are incarcerated are within their
reproductive years, and many women are pregnant at reception. Nearly 4% of
incarcerated women in the U.S. are pregnant; some reports estimate that there
are approximately 58,000 pregnant women in jail or prison.
Pregnancy can be challenging to a mother and fetus
under the best of circumstances. According to Johns Hopkins University,
pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to life-threatening complications if
not closely monitored by a physician. Now imagine if you are a pregnant woman
in prison.
Nearly 50 years ago, the United States Supreme Court
found that the U.S. Constitution requires prisons to provide medical care to
inmates by holding that "deliberate indifference to serious medical needs
of prisoners" violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and
unusual punishment.
However, prisons and jails continue to act with
indifference to the care and treatment of pregnant prisoners. For instance, the
use of restraints on pregnant women and women in labor appears to knowingly
increase the risk of significant medical harm to the mother and unborn child.
Outside of the prison walls, the government and
private businesses make a host of accommodations for pregnant and parenting
women. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act is a federal statute that protects
pregnant workers and requires covered employers to make job-related
modifications for pregnant employees. The Act forbids employment discrimination
based on pregnancy, childbirth, or medical conditions related to pregnancy or
childbirth.
When a family is expecting a new child, the Family
Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides equal leave for both the mother and father.
Both, or either, covered parent, may take 12 weeks leave for the birth of a
newborn. If both parents work in positions covered by the FMLA, they will both
be entitled to leave. FMLA also provides leave for pregnancy-related health
reasons.
In prison, the government is not so generous when it
comes to pregnant women or women who have recently given birth. A significant
majority of correctional facilities do not have on-site obstetric care;
pregnant women are typically transported to community-based providers for
prenatal care, and women in labor are transferred to medical facilities for
delivery. Though policies vary by jurisdiction, during transport, labor,
delivery and post-delivery, women are frequently shackled with handcuffs, leg
irons and/or waist chains, reported AMA Journal of Ethics.
Shackling pregnant women being transported for or
being provided medical treatment is a remnant of the institutions that, have
for years, predominately housed men.
Prisons and jails are not equipped to properly care
for pregnant women. For instance, pregnant women with mental health problems
are advised to stop taking psychotropic drugs for bipolar, anxiety and
depression. Obviously, confinement exacerbates their condition. Intensive
mental health therapy must, but doesn't always, stand in the void.
Special nutritional concerns like seafood, foods not
fully cooked or fruit and vegetables not properly cleaned put women and their
babies at risk. Proper intake testing and evaluation, prenatal care and
postpartum care, especially mental health care after separation from a newborn
child, can go a long way toward protecting pregnant women and their newborn.
Pregnant women do not belong in prisons or jails, but
until we get to the point where society can achieve an alternative — at a
minimum cruel and unusual methods such as shackling women during prenatal care
and childbirth must stop.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg,
Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book "The Executioner's Toll,
2010" was released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at
www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewTMangino.
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