Pregnant Inmates Are Still Being Shackled, Handcuffed, & Restrained During Childbirth
Pregnant Inmates Are Still Being Shackled, Handcuffed, & Restrained During Childbirth
By KATHERINE SPELLER16 min ago
For Sen. Cory Booker, reforming the way the criminal justice system treats women in prison isn't about politics, it's about dignity. While female inmates face a number of challenges, one of the most shocking realities of prison life is the practice of shackling women during pregnancy, during recovery, and even during childbirth.
"It is absolutely abhorrent behavior that you're shackling pregnant women, or shackling women that are undergoing procedures," Booker tells Bustle. "What does that do their unborn child, that kind of stress, that kind of trauma?"
"What does that do their unborn child, that kind of stress, that kind of trauma?"
Booker is co-sponsoring the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act with Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Dick Durbin. The bill, introduced in July, looks to prohibit shackling at the federal level and ensures a higher quality of life for female inmates. The bill would allow free phone calls, emails, and Skype chats between inmates and their family members, require the Bureau of Prisons to consider where inmate's children live when placing a prisoner, and mandate that women receive free, quality pads and tampons while they're incarcerated.
More:
https://www.bustle.com/p/pregnant-inmates-are-still-being-shackled-handcuffed-restrained-during-childbirth-75997
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