{"article":{"id":255442,"heading":"Will AB 2530 Unshackle Childbirth in California? -Interviewing Tina Reynolds and Vikki Law","author":"Angola 3 News","created":"2012-09-07 05:31:13","modified":"2013-11-11 01:11:13","last_modified":"Mon, 11 Nov 2013 08:11:13","article":"
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\r\nWill AB 2530 Unshackle Childbirth in California? <\/b><\/div>\r\n
\r\n--An interview with Tina Reynolds and Vikki Law<\/b><\/div>\r\n
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\r\nBy Angola 3 News<\/i><\/div>\r\n
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\r\nA bill opposing the shackling of pregnant prisoners, AB 2530, <\/span>has been passed unanimously by the\r\nCalifornia State Legislature and is now on Governor Jerry Brown’s desk, with\r\nthirty days to either approve or veto it. Last year, a previous version of this\r\nbill was also passed unanimously by the Legislature, but it was ultimately vetoed\r\nby Governor Brown.<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nWith Governor Brown’s decision expected anytime, local\r\nactivists are urgently mobilizing to stop him from vetoing this important bill\r\nonce again. AB 2530 supporters have created a webpage for the public (not just\r\nCalifornia residents) to contact the Governor. Take action here.<\/i><\/span>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nThe action page states that “AB 2530 addresses Governor\r\nBrown’s veto by clarifying language and prohibiting the most dangerous forms of\r\nshackling. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)\r\nopposes the use of shackles on pregnant women in all but the most extreme\r\ncircumstances. Pregnant women in correctional facilities are more likely to\r\nexperience miscarriage, preterm birth, low birth weight infants, and\r\npotentially fatal conditions like preeclampsia. Excessive shackling could not\r\nonly increase stress and lead to further complications, but also render doctors\r\nunable to treat women in emergency situations. AB 2530 provides medical professionals\r\nthe authority to have restraints removed in order to treat pregnant inmates.”<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nAs this bill sits on Governor Brown’s desk, we take a closer\r\nlook at AB 2530, similar bills in other states, and the broader experiences of\r\npregnant prisoners throughout the US by speaking with Tina Reynolds and Vikki\r\nLaw from WORTH's Birthing Behind Bars campaign. <\/span><\/span>Tina Reynolds, who herself gave birth\r\nwhile incarcerated, is co-founder and co-chair of Women on the Rise Telling HerStory (WORTH) <\/span>and an adjunct lecturer at York College\/CUNY.\r\nShe is a co-editor of Interrupted Life: Experiences of Incarcerated Womenin the United States<\/i> <\/span>(UC Press 2010).<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nVictoria Law is a writer, photographer and mother. She is\r\nthe author of Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women<\/i> (first published by PM Press in 2009, with a new updated version released this month), the editor of the zine\r\nTenacious: Art and Writings from Women in Prison<\/i> and a co-founder of Books\r\nThrough Bars - NYC. Her latest book, just released this month, Don't Leave Your Friends Behind\r\n<\/i>(PM Press, 2012) addresses how\r\nsocial justice movements and communities can support the families in their\r\nmidst. Learn more about upcoming book-release events here.<\/i>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nThere will be a special performance of MUNCH in New York\r\nCity on September 9, as a benefit for WORTH. Learn more here.<\/i> <\/span>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nAngola 3 News:<\/u>     <\/span><\/b>What does shackling during pregnancy\r\nentail?<\/i> <\/div>\r\n
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\r\nTina Reynolds and Victoria Law of Birthing Behind Bars:<\/b><\/u>     <\/span>Imagine a woman who is actively in labor. She\r\nis handcuffed. Attached to those handcuffs is a chain that links the handcuffs\r\nto a chain that goes around her belly. Attached to that<\/i> belly chain is a\r\nchain connected to shackles around her feet. This hampers her movement\r\ntremendously. <\/div>\r\n
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\r\nIf you've ever seen old movies depicting chain gangs or\r\nprisons, you've seen some version of shackling. When people who have their legs\r\nshackled attempt to move, they hobble slowly since the leg shackles keep their\r\nfeet and legs together. You can imagine how dangerous this is for a woman who\r\nis actively in labor and is going to need to both move around and eventually be\r\nable to push a baby out of her body.<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nA3N:<\/u>     <\/span><\/b>What arguments do you make in opposition to\r\nthis?<\/i><\/div>\r\n
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\r\nBBB:<\/b><\/u>     <\/span>First, shackling\r\nor otherwise restraining a person who is in labor and delivery is inhumane, if\r\nnot torture. International organizations have recognized this as a human rights\r\nabuse. In 2006, the UN Committee Against Torture alerted the US government that\r\nshackling during childbirth is a violation of the UN Convention Against Torture, which the US is a signatory of. It should also be noted\r\nthat Rule 33 of the UN’s Standard Minimum Rules on the Treatment of Prisoners\r\nstates clearly that chains and\/or irons should never<\/i> be used as restraints.<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nSecondly, shackling or otherwise restraining a person in\r\nlabor and delivery is dangerous both to the woman and to the baby. Medical\r\nprofessionals have recognized and spoken out against these practices: The\r\nAmerican Medical Association adopted a resolution opposing shackling as a\r\nmedically hazardous practice. The American\r\n College of Obstetrician\r\nand Gynecologists, the American\r\n College of Nurse\r\nMidwives, and the American Public Health Association have also condemned this\r\npractice. <\/div>\r\n
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\r\nA3N:<\/u>     <\/span><\/b>How often are pregnant women prisoners forced\r\nto wear shackles during birth? Is there documentation of how many pregnant\r\nprisoners are forced to do this?<\/i><\/div>\r\n
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\r\nBBB:<\/b><\/u>    <\/span>As far as we\r\nknow, there is no documented percentage (that is publicly available) of how\r\nmany women prisoners are shackled during birth. What we do know is that 34\r\nstates currently have no protection against shackling pregnant prisoners while\r\nthey are in labor or delivery. That means that it is up to the jail or prison\r\nstaff as to how and if the mother will be restrained while she is in labor,\r\nwhile she is being transported from the jail or prison to the hospital, and how\r\nshe will be restrained once at the hospital. <\/div>\r\n
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\r\nIn addition, mothers undergoing delivery via c-section are\r\noften restrained both during and after the surgery. These decisions are not\r\nmade by the medical staff. As of 2011, in many of the states that have no\r\nprotections against shackling and restraining women during childbirth, the\r\ninput of medical staff does not need to be considered. <\/div>\r\n
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\r\nWe also know that five to six percent of women entering\r\njails and prisons each year are pregnant. Many will spend the duration of their\r\npregnancies behind bars, which means that even if they do not give birth while\r\nincarcerated, they must rely on the prison’s prenatal care, which is often\r\ninadequate and sometimes can jeopardize their pregnancies. <\/div>\r\n
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\r\nA3N:<\/u>     <\/span><\/b>Compared to shackling the legs, how much\r\nsafer is shackling of the hands, or any other method used? Do you know often these are\r\nused instead?<\/i><\/div>\r\n
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\r\nBBB:<\/u><\/b>     <\/span>We’re not sure\r\nhow often other methods are used instead of leg shackles during childbirth, but\r\npart of the campaign is recognizing that using restraints on a woman who is\r\npregnant and\/or actively in labor and childbirth is dangerous. <\/div>\r\n
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\r\nFor example, in Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Department\r\nof Corrections has stated that they do not shackle women who are in labor (thus\r\nanti-shackling legislation is unnecessary). Their current policy is that the\r\nrestraints used on women who are in labor and delivery should be the “least\r\nrestrictive” and should not be waist or leg restraints. But this doesn’t mean\r\nthat there aren’t dangers to restricting a pregnant women’s movement. When\r\nwalking, pregnant women, especially in their third trimester may have balance\r\nissues, and if they trip and fall while handcuffed, they will be unable to\r\ncatch themselves. When transported in a van while handcuffed, if jostled, they\r\nwill be unable to catch themselves from falling or bumping into something. <\/div>\r\n
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\r\nIt’s also important to note that Massachusetts’s “less\r\nrestrictive” policies came about because of a 1992 consent decree, McDonald v. Fair (CivilAction No. 80352), not because the Dep<\/span>artment of Corrections realized\r\nthe hazards and immorality of shackling pregnant women.\r\n<\/span>It’s important to remember that we\r\ncannot wait for prison administrators and legislators to see the light; we have\r\nto constantly remind them that shackling pregnant prisoners is not only a\r\nmedical issue, but also a human rights abuse that will not be tolerated.<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nA3N:<\/u>     <\/span><\/b>Who are the primary advocates of shackling\r\npregnant prisoners?<\/i><\/div>\r\n
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\r\nBBB:<\/u><\/b>     <\/span>The primary advocates\r\nof shackling are prison and jail staff (and their unions). Because prison and\r\njail staff have very strong trade unions, whereas prisoners are not a voting\r\nconstituency, politicians sometimes jump on pro-shackling as a way to court\r\nthose votes.<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nLast year, pressure from the California State Sheriffs'\r\nAssociation and both Alameda and Sonoma County Sheriffs' departments pushed\r\nGovernor Brown to veto the anti-shackling bill that had already passed the\r\nState Senate and Assembly. Similarly, in Massachusetts and Georgia, the state\r\nDepartment of Corrections has opposed the efforts of advocates and formerly\r\nincarcerated women trying to pass legislation to ban the shackling and other\r\nrestraints of incarcerated women during labor, delivery and recovery.<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nA3N:<\/u>     <\/span><\/b>What arguments do shackling advocates make?<\/i><\/div>\r\n
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\r\nBBB:<\/b><\/u>     <\/span>The most\r\ncommonly-used argument is that, if not shackled or restrained, women who are\r\nactively in labor and delivery will use the opportunity to overpower the guards\r\nand escape. As I mentioned earlier, legislators have jumped on that bandwagon,\r\nsometimes to court the votes of prison and jail staff, sometimes simply playing\r\non law-and-order rhetoric. In Rhode\r\n Island, when the state legislature was considering\r\nits anti-shackling legislation in 2011, House Minority Leader Brain Newberry\r\nwas quoted as saying, “You could have a murderer who is pregnant. The easiest\r\ntime to escape is during transport.”<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nOf course, this is fear-mongering and not at all based in\r\nreality, as anyone who has ever experienced labor and delivery (whether incarcerated\r\nor not) will tell you. We have publicly countered this argument both from Tina’s\r\nown experience as a pregnant prisoner and from listening to countless stories\r\nof others who have given birth in prison. We have never heard a woman tell a\r\nstory of wanting to run during labor. It's just not on their mind.<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nVikki has gone through childbirth (but not in prison), and can\r\ntell you that when she was actively in labor, she couldn’t even walk down the\r\nhallway without lots of physical support from her partner (and even then it\r\nseemed like a herculean challenge). We seriously doubt that a woman in labor is\r\ngoing to summon up the strength to overpower the accompanying guards and\r\nmedical staff and then run. All of the mothers that we know will tell you the\r\nsame.<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nThere's also the perception that, when a person has violated the law and is\r\nsent to prison, she deserves all other punishments that come along with her\r\nprison sentence. Women prisoners have historically been viewed as not redeemable\r\nand this notion still comes into play when we think about women in prison\r\ntoday. <\/div>\r\n
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\r\nIn addition, shackling during transportation outside of\r\nprison is practiced regardless of gender. There is no consideration of\r\ncircumstances and so the health and safety of pregnant women are ignored by\r\nthis blanket policy.<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nA3N:<\/u>     <\/span><\/b>California’s AB 2530 opposes shackling\r\n“unless deemed necessary for the safety and security of the inmate, the staff,\r\nor the public.” How serious of a loophole is this qualification? How\r\nsignificant of a step forward do you think this bill is? <\/i><\/div>\r\n
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\r\nBBB:<\/b><\/u>     The bill is significant because it prevents the CDCR\r\nfrom shackling and restraining women during any<\/i> stage of their pregnancy, not\r\njust during labor, delivery and recovery. It also forces the CDCR to inform\r\nwomen that they have a right not<\/i> to be shackled or cuffed behind the back\r\nduring the entirety of their pregnancies.<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nThe \"unless deemed necessary for the safety and\r\nsecurity\" clause addresses the fears that prison and jail staff (and their\r\nunions) whip up around not<\/i> being able to restrain women in labor. Of course,\r\nit would be nice if it weren't there, but that clause may also mean that jail\r\nand prison staff actually have to record the (hopefully few to no) instances in\r\nwhich they do use restraints on pregnant women and actually justify their\r\nactions. It's not perfect, but it is a start.<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nA3N:<\/u>     <\/span><\/b>How far have other states’ anti-shackling\r\nbills gone with their restrictions on shackling?<\/i><\/div>\r\n
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\r\nBBB:<\/b><\/u> <\/b><\/u>    <\/span>In 1999, Illinois\r\nwas the first state to pass anti-shackling legislation--banning restraints of\r\nany kind, including handcuffs and leg irons, from being used on women who were\r\neither in labor or being taken to the hospital to give birth. However, prison\r\nand jail officials often interpreted labor to mean only the actual delivery,\r\nnot the hours and sometimes days in labor leading up to childbirth. This meant\r\nthat pregnant women were still shackled for unnecessarily long periods of time.\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nThis past January, following a $4.1 million settlement\r\n(thanks to the efforts of Chicago Legal Aid to Incarcerated Mothers, who filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of several women that had been shackled up until\r\nthe moment of delivery), Illinois passed another bill that clarified its definitions of labor and\r\ndelivery. It also extended the ban on shackling and restraining pregnant women\r\nincarcerated at Chicago's Cook County Jail during all<\/i> stages of their\r\npregnancy. <\/div>\r\n
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\r\nSeveral other states have anti-shackling legislation that\r\nextends beyond the immediate time period of labor, delivery and postpartum\r\nrecovery. Vermont’s 2005 anti-shackling legislation states that prison staff\r\n\"shall not routinely restrain pregnant inmates who are beyond their first\r\ntrimester of pregnancy in the same manner as other inmates, recognizing that to\r\ndo so might pose undue health risks for the mother and unborn child.\"  <\/span>Like legislation in other states, Vermont\r\nalso prohibits shackling of women during labor and delivery EXCEPT when the\r\nprison or jail staff feel that \"the inmate presents a substantial flight\r\nrisk or other extraordinary circumstances dictate otherwise.\"<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nSimilarly,\r\nNew Mexico's 2009 legislation states that a \"correctional facility,\r\ndetention center or local jail shall use the least restrictive restraints\r\nnecessary when the facility has actual or constructive knowledge that an inmate\r\nis in the second or third trimester of pregnancy.\" Again, the legislation\r\nallows for exceptions if the prison or jail staff determine that the woman poses\r\nsome sort of security risk.\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nWhen Rhode Island\r\npassed its anti-shackling legislation in 2011, it included a prohibition\r\nagainst restraints starting in the second trimester, a requirement that\r\npregnant prisoners be notified of their rights, and a provision allowing women\r\nto file a lawsuit if they are shackled in violation of the law. This last rule\r\nis not in any other legislation limiting or prohibiting shackling. <\/div>\r\n
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\r\nHowever, all of these bills have exceptions that justify\r\nshackling for \"safety reasons.\" As far as we know, the \"for\r\nsafety reasons\" exceptions have not been addressed by people inside\r\nwomen's prisons or by outside advocates who have been pushing anti-shackling\r\nlegislation. <\/div>\r\n
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\r\nA3N:<\/u>     <\/span><\/b>Anything else to add regarding the\r\nsignificance of AB 2530 in California?<\/i><\/div>\r\n
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\r\nBBB:<\/u><\/b>     <\/span>The California\r\nbill is significant because it would extend the prohibition on using leg irons,\r\nwaist chains or handcuffs behind the body on pregnant women throughout their\r\npregnancy (and recovery from childbirth), not just in the hours during labor\r\nand delivery. It recognizes that restraining pregnant women, no matter what\r\ntrimester of pregnancy that they are in, is both medically dangerous and a\r\nhuman rights abuse. <\/div>\r\n
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\r\nBecause there's been more national media attention paid to\r\nefforts to pass it, the legislation would also be a model for advocates in\r\nother states seeking similar protections for pregnant people in jails, prisons\r\nand immigrant detention centers in their areas. As we said earlier, 34 states\r\ncurrently have no legislative protection against shackling or restraining\r\npregnant women during labor and delivery. Of the states that do have\r\nlegislative protection against shackling or otherwise restraining people during\r\nlabor, only a few protect women during earlier stages of pregnancy. <\/div>\r\n
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\r\nA3N:<\/u>     <\/span><\/b>What ways can our readers help support the Birthing\r\nBehind Bars website\/activist campaign, and otherwise take action against the\r\npractice of shackling during birth?<\/i><\/div>\r\n
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\r\nBBB:<\/b><\/u>     <\/span>First off, if\r\nthey haven’t already, they can go to our website, www.birthingbehindbars.org,\r\nand sign the pledge to help end shackling and other reproductive injustices\r\nbehind bars when the fight comes to their area. We’re working with the media\r\ngroup Thousand Kites to build a system to contact supporters in certain areas\r\nwhen we know that campaigns addressing reproductive justice in prisons are\r\nhappening in their home towns or states. <\/div>\r\n
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\r\nWe recognize that campaigns to end shackling and other\r\nreproductive injustices in prison can’t happen without the women who have been\r\nmost directly impacted. In 2009, New\r\n York State\r\npassed legislation to end the shackling of incarcerated women during labor,\r\ndelivery and recovery. Crucial to the passing of that bill were the voices, insights\r\nand analyses of women who had experienced birth behind bars. Members of WORTH, an\r\norganization of currently and formerly incarcerated women in New York, spoke\r\nabout being pregnant while in jail and prison, being handcuffed and shackled\r\nwhile in labor, and being separated from their newborn babies almost\r\nimmediately. Their stories drew public attention to the issue and put human\r\nfaces on the pending legislation. <\/div>\r\n
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\r\nFrom this victory, WORTH members gained a deeper sense of\r\ntheir own power to affect social change. Birthing Behind Bars comes out of this\r\nrecognition that those most directly impacted must be at the center of the\r\nfight for reproductive justice in prisons. <\/div>\r\n
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\r\nThe Birthing Behind Bars site provides a forum for women's\r\nstories and a way to amplify them to support campaigns for reproductive\r\njustice. If you are a formerly incarcerated woman who has experienced pregnancy\r\nwhile behind bars, or if you know a sister who has, get in touch! We want to\r\nhear your stories! We want to know: What was medical care like? Did you birth\r\nyour baby while incarcerated? What was it like to hold your baby for the first\r\ntime? What happened in the moments after? <\/div>\r\n
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\r\nWomen can also call in their story anytime on our toll-free\r\nhotline: 877-518-0606 (<\/b><\/span>Don't\r\nworry if you make a mistake, we edit all the calls). They can also upload their\r\nstories for our site, here.\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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\r\nRegardless of whether readers have first-hand experience of\r\npregnancy in prison, we all need to get involved! Currently, formerly\r\nincarcerated women and outside advocates in both Georgia\r\n<\/span>and Massachusetts\r\nare fighting to gain legislative protection for people who are incarcerated\r\nwhile pregnant. Readers in those states can get involved in the fight and start\r\nthe process of ensuring a safer pregnancy for women behind bars. <\/div>\r\n
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\r\nWe also need to recognize that reproductive justice is not\r\nsimply the absence of chains and irons during labor and delivery, but that\r\neveryone, regardless of what stage of pregnancy they’re in, deserves to have a\r\nsafe and healthy pregnancy. We recognize that prisons are never going to\r\nprovide a place for safe and healthy pregnancies; we recognize that we need\r\nalternatives to incarceration for pregnant women. At the same time, we also\r\nrecognize that the city, state and federal systems continue to incarcerate\r\nwomen at all stages of pregnancy. While they are behind bars, they should be\r\nprotected against the human rights abuses and reproductive injustices currently\r\ninflicted upon them. <\/div>\r\n
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\r\n--Angola\r\n3 News is an official project of the International Coalition to Free the Angola\r\n3. Our website is www.angola3news.com, where we provide the latest news about\r\nthe Angola 3. Additionally we are also creating our own media projects, which\r\nspotlight the issues central to the story of the Angola 3, like racism,\r\nrepression, prisons, human rights, solitary confinement as torture, and more.\r\nOur articles and videos have been published by Alternet, Truthout, Black\r\nCommentator, SF Bay View Newspaper, Counterpunch, Monthly Review, Z Magazine,\r\nIndymedia, and many others.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\n","contact":"","link":"www.angola3news.com","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/html","summary":"A bill opposing the shackling of pregnant prisoners, AB 2530, has been passed unanimously by the California State Legislature and is now on Governor Jerry Brown\u2019s desk, with thirty days to either approve or veto it. Last year, a previous version of this bill was also passed unanimously by the Legislature, but it was ultimately vetoed by Brown. With Brown\u2019s decision expected anytime, local activists are urgently mobilizing to stop him from vetoing this important bill once again. AB 2530 supporters have created a webpage for the public (not just California residents) to contact the Governor.","numcomment":0,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2012\/09\/255442.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[]}