Pregnant Women Present Flight Risk
The New York Times today reports on a lawsuit brought by a female inmate who was shackled during labor. This is a disturbingly common practice, allowed in 23 states. Ludicrous. This woman's crime? Writing bad checks. Hardly a dangerous felon. And who ever heard of a pregnant inmate running away during labor?
posted by Ugly Juice @ 3:12 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I saw this last night on my RSS reader and was just horrified. Is this America in 2006?
Does this mean it is PRACTICED in 23 states, or simply NOT BANNED in 23 states??
To anyone reading the comments: Matt's comment above sparked an intense IM fight during Business Associations on Friday. Rather than post the whole transcript, I'll provide an abridged version. Matt thought I was suggesting that just because a woman is pregnant, she could NEVER pose a flight or security risk. I am not so naive as to assume that's the case. However, I do think that there are ways to control the situation in more humane ways. Guards could be present, and they could control the external environment to a great extent to prevent her from grabbing a scalpel or something. I do think that there might be situations where a woman is truly a dangerous felon and a security risk. But I think all measures should be taken to proceed with the situation in a humane manner. And if she's so incredibly dangerous, cuff her afterwards. But not during labor and birth, my God.
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