As the Massachusetts Legislature considers this year’s crop of criminal justice reform bills, one that has not gotten much attention is a measure to ensure proper treatment of pregnant women in jail and prison. Improving the medical treatment and protecting the constitutional rights of these women is vitally important and would contribute to the Commonwealth’s [...]
Two sessions. Two bills passed unanimously by the Legislature, thanks to broad-based organizing campaigns. And now, two vetoes, from governors of two different political parties. According to The Sacramento Bee, California’s Governor Brown vetoed the bill to protect pregnant women from shackling today, October 9. After waiting until the last minute to issue a decision, [...]
One month after the California Legislature sent a bill to the Governor to protect incarcerated women from being shackled during pregnancy, the State Sheriffs’ Association has decided to oppose the bill, according to a news update from Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice (ACRJ). Although the legislative process provided plenty of opportunity to make their voices [...]
For the second session in a row, the California Legislature has unanimously passed a bill to prohibit the shackling of pregnant incarcerated women. However, uncertainty remains over whether the governor will sign the bill. Last time, Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill, claiming that its mandates went outside the scope of the designated government [...]
By Eve Weinbaum and Rachel Roth Today we celebrate the anniversary of female suffrage, a victory that took more than 70 years of political struggle to achieve. After women won the right to vote in 1920, socialist feminist Crystal Eastman observed that suffrage was an important first step but that what women really wanted was [...]
In April, I wrote about an important federal court decision holding the Nashville Sheriff’s Office accountable for violating a woman’s rights by shackling her during labor and then denying her access to a breast pump when she was taken back to jail after giving birth. Today, The Tennessean reports that a federal jury awarded [...]
A new federal court decision adds weight to the campaign to end the shackling of pregnant women.
Rigid foster care rules threaten to dissolve family ties when mothers are in prison or residential drug treatment. A new law in New York State takes steps to help these families weather the separation.
Pennsylvania is poised to become the tenth state to restrict the shackling of pregnant women in labor or childbirth, once the governor signs the bill.
The American Medical Association takes a stand against shackling women in labor
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