Sign this petition to help end the Shackling of Pregnant Inmates
In 23 states, it is legal for a woman to be placed in chains during her pregnancy, labour and delivery. The practice of shackling disproportionately affects Black women, who are nearly twice as likely to be incarcerated as white women. The result is a heavy iron trifecta intended to immobilize inmates. For the already less mobile pregnant body, shackling is a highly redundant and punitive measure.
In addition to being a blatant rejection of human rights traditions, the practice threatens female inmates' health. When secured tightly around women's abdomen, chains add undue pressure and weight to pregnant bodies, and restraints impair a woman's ability to walk. Falling as a consequence of the imbalance may result in injury to the mother or a possible miscarriage.
The use of ankle cuffs has also been shown to increase blood clots' risk during pregnancy (Correctional Association, 134). Knowing the physical damage of shackling adds to the level of psychological stress that pregnant incarcerated women already suffer from. One formerly incarcerated woman describes being shackled during labor as "the most dehumanizing, embarrassing, degrading, animalistic thing that I have ever experienced" (Huffington Post).
Sign this petition to demand that the shackling of pregnant prisoners ends.
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CITATIONS
Amnesty International, Not part of my sentence: Violations of the human rights of women in
custody, 1 March 1999. http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ AMR51/019/1999.
Jeltsen, Melissa. "Listen To Women Describe The Horror Of Being Shackled While Pregnant."
The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc., 11 Dec. 2015.
