Fed. Ct. Condemns Shackling Pregnant Inmates

[Black-Unity (bka) moorbey]

Federal Appeals Court Condemns Shackling Of Pregnant Prisoners In
Labor (10/2/2009)

ACLU Client Shackled During Labor In Arkansas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: [phone]; [e-mail]

NEW YORK – Ruling in the case of an Arkansas woman who was shackled
to her hospital bed while in labor in 2003, a federal appeals court
today said that constitutional protections against shackling pregnant
women during labor had been clearly established by decisions of the
Supreme Court and the lower courts. This is the first time a circuit
court has made such a determination. The full Eighth Circuit Court of
Appeals made the ruling today in the case of ACLU client Shawanna
Nelson.

"This is a historic decision by a U.S. Court of Appeals that affirms
the dignity of all women and mothers in America," said Elizabeth
Alexander, Director of the American Civil Liberties Union"s National
Prison Project. "Correctional officials across the country are now on
notice that they can no longer engage in this widespread practice."

Nelson was a 29-year-old non-violent offender who was six months
pregnant with her second child when she was incarcerated by the
Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADOC) in June 2003. Three months
later, after going into labor, she was taken to a local hospital
where correctional officers shackled her legs to opposite sides of
the bed. Nelson remained shackled to the bed for several hours of
labor until she was finally taken to the delivery room.

The shackles caused Nelson cramps and intense pain, as she could not
adjust her position during contractions. She was unshackled during
delivery, but was immediately re-shackled after the birth of her son.
After childbirth, the use of shackles caused her to soil the sheets
of her bed because she could not be unshackled quickly enough to get
to a bathroom.

"Restraining a pregnant woman can pose undue health risks to the
woman and her pregnancy," said Diana Kasdan, staff attorney with the
ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. "Today"s decision reaffirms that
pregnant women in prison do not lose their right to safe and humane
treatment."

Nelson filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against ADOC and several
ADOC officials, and a federal district court judge ruled that a jury
should decide whether her treatment violated the constitution. A
three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, however,
dismissed Nelson"s case by ruling that her shackling was not
unconstitutional. The ACLU represented Nelson in a subsequent hearing
before the full Eighth Circuit Court which found that legal precedent
clearly establishes the constitutional protections against shackling
pregnant women in labor, paving the way for Nelson"s lawsuit to go to
trial.

"Shackling pregnant women is not only dangerous it is inhumane," said
Rita Sklar, Executive Director of the ACLU of Arkansas. "The
importance of this decision cannot be overstated."

The National Perinatal Association, American College of Nurse
Midwives, American Medical Women"s Association, the Rebecca Project
for Human Rights and dozens of other public health and advocacy
organizations that are dedicated to protecting the health and rights
of women and their children also opposed the prison's shackling of
Nelson.

A copy of today"s ruling by the Eighth Circuit is available online
at: American Civil Liberties Union : Nelson v. Correctional Medical Services, et al. - 8th Circuit Court Decision