Shackling

The California Legislature unanimously passed a bill to protect pregnant women from shackling; last-minute lobbying puts this important bill at risk.

For the second session in a row, the California Legislature has unanimously passed a bill to prohibit the shackling of pregnant incarcerated women. Will the Governor sign it into law?

Two victories in one day: A federal jury in Tennessee affirms that shackling during labor violates women's rights, and the Virginia Department of Corrections announces that it will no longer engage in the practice.

The Republican candidate for New York's District 26 special election once voted to shackle pregnant prisoners who were giving birth.

A new federal court decision adds weight to the campaign to ban the shackling of pregnant women.

On Feb. 4, the Virginia General Assembly's House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee defeated a bill that would have limited the use of restraints on pregnant inmates.

More women—two-thirds of whom are mothers—are behind bars today than at any other point in U.S. history.  But federal and state laws and regulations fail to ensure humane treatment of pregnant women and mothers.

Given the consensus that shackling pregnant women is not only unnecessary but also degrading, it was a shock to find out this morning that Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill passed by the California Legislature to end shackling of pregnant women in his state.

Follow Jodi Jacobson on Twitter, @jljacobson

In California’s prisons, pregnant Black women, brown women, and Asian-Pacific Islander women are chained together in a barbaric throwback to another time. But it’s here and now.

NPR recounts chilling tales by women who were shackled during labor and childbirth, and reports on the ongoing efforts to end this practice.