Incarcerated Women: Pregnancy, Childbirth & Shackling
“Shackling pregnant women violates human rights and illuminates the criminal legal system’s culture of punishment. This happens because we do not value women of color and women from low-income communities. Formerly and currently incarcerated women continue to drive anti-shackling reforms with their expertise and brilliance. Valuing this leadership is what we need in our movement and our society.”
– Miyhosi Benton, policy expert and leader in NY’s successful 2015 anti-shackling campaign
Pregnant women sent to prisons and jails in 2016
STATE
PRISON
FEDERAL
PRISON
LOCAL
JAIL
Percent of women who are
pregnant at admission
1,400 babies born
to women in prison in 2016
All estimates here are extrapolated from limited existing data
No federal government reports
provide current data about incarcerated pregnant women
Women of color are disproportionately incarcerated
yet no national studies report on incarcerated pregnant women’s race and ethnicity
No data exist on incarcerated transgender and gender expansive people who are pregnant
Incarcerated mothers are often prevented from bonding and breastfeeding in the hospital, sometimes illegally
9 states have prison nursery programs and many mothers are unjustly refused entry
Incarcerated pregnant women are:
easily denied their legal right to abortion because of poor services and denials of care
often denied adequate food, support and health care
watched by officers during all medical appointments
refused family support during childbirth
Anti-Shackling Laws
Many additional state and local corrections departments have policies that limit shackling during pregnancy and/or childbirth in some way.
Federal law largely prohibits federal prisons from shackling women during pregnancy and postpartum, but permits officers to use front handcuffs, including during labor and childbirth, if the woman is deemed a threat or flight risk.
Shackling pregnant women is:
- DANGEROUS to women’s safety, physical health and emotional well-being
- HARMFUL because it can interfere with medical care and cause falls and complications
- UNNECESSARY because officers can supervise pregnant women without using shackles
- OPPOSED by the nation’s leading health experts and human rights groups
Shackling can take different forms
all are harmful for pregnant women
Women can be shackled for many hours or even days at a time
Anti-shackling laws and policies are routinely violated and many women continue to be subjected to this brutal practice.
To view data sources and download the print version of this infographic click here.
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