Mothers in Chains: How national and state legislation have been enacted to stop the practice of shackling incarcerated pregnant women

Abstract

In recent decades, the treatment of pregnant prisoners has generated much public debate, in particular the issue of shackling pregnant inmates during labor, delivery, and postpartum recovery. This paper presents several shackling cases that have resulted in lawsuits and policy changes and discusses the growing effort to ban the use of restraints on pregnant prisoners, a practice many medical and human rights organizations deem unnecessary, degrading, and unsafe. The author also analyzes the Anti-Shackling Bills introduced in the 2010 Washington State Legislative Session, documenting the bills' amendments and passage into law.