Women in prison are shackled while giving birth

www.twincities.com ^ | Mar. 02, 2006 | Associated Press

[immigration lady]

Amnesty calls for end to shackling inmates in laborAssociated PressFemale inmates should not be shackled during childbirth, a human rights group said Wednesday in a report that commended Wisconsin for banning the practice. Amnesty International USA called the practice inhumane, though one Department of Corrections official said shackles are sometimes necessary when an inmate is a flight risk. The report, "Abuse of Women in Custody: Sexual Misconduct and Shackling of Pregnant Women," is in part a response to the experience of Samantha Luther, a former inmate at Taycheedah Correctional Institution near Fond du Lac. Luther was shackled throughout most of her baby's birth last year.

[immigration lady]

I am not usually for anything that Amnesty International is involved with but this I have to agree with. All I can say is that this is barbaric treatment. If we can have an outrage over prisoners of war wearing panties on their heads and call that an outrage, then we should do something about this. I have been involved with midwifery for years and all of my kids were born outside of a hospital with a midwife. I know what it feels like when you are giving birth and even women who are considered to be a flight risk would not get very far when they are in labor! The guard would be stationed outside the door, the door would be locked. There is no need to shackle a woman who is giving birth. It is an experience where a woman needs to be able to move and spread her legs to allow for the contractions and labor to move forward and correctly. Men will not understand this. No, prison is not a pleasure cruise, nor should it be, but the right of a woman to be able to have a child without undue harm being inflicted is something that should be granted to all women - no matter what their crime. In addition, what one has to remember is that a lot of these women are raped while in prison and yet nothing is done to the male guards. That issue should be addressed as well.

[Mikey_1962]

Some women are shackled during conception. ;)

[al baby]

please no pictures

[ShadowAce]

All I can say is that this is barbaric treatment.

These women are not in a minimum security prison. That is for a reason. They are there for murder, or other violent crime. If you are going to have people around her that are not trained to handle violent criminals (medics, nurses, etc) then you need to restrain them.

Goodness knows they will use every opportunity they have to lash out. And the ones that truly are on good behavior have to deal with this because of the ones that aren't.

That's life.

[FerdieMurphy]

Good idea.

What's to keep these felons from rolling off the table, tossing the newborn into a dumpster and fleeing?

Then one is left to wonder: where is the father of the child?

They should probably manacle the baby as well as when he grows up there'll be another big expense warehousing him in the pen.

[trebb]

but the right of a woman to be able to have a child without undue harm being inflicted is something that should be granted to all women - no matter what their crime

Where did it say anything about undue pain or not being able to spread her legs? All these women are experiencing is a minor inconvenience, not torture.

[RockinRight]

You said it before I did...

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I'm off the hook now because Wisconsin doesn't do this to their homicidal mothers-to-be.

However, I am awaiting news of the first attending doctor or nurse one of these glowing examples of Motherhood takes out when given half the chance...

[joe fonebone]

Don't do the crime if ya can't do the time.......

[Vor Lady]

These people need to get a life! After having several babies in a standard hospital setting I've learned all women are 'shackled'; by IV lines, fetal moniter lines, contraction monitoring lines, etc.... Usually there is so much hardware in the way, I don't understand how the doctor gets anywhere near the mother's body to catch the baby.

[Flavius Josephus]

It's humiliating, that's the problem. Not allowed to humiliate anyone.

[Leatherneck_MT]

"Some women are shackled during conception. ;)"

thanks.. now I have to clean off my monitor LOL.

[r9etb]

Leaving aside the question of shackling these women ... isn't it amazing that there are enough pregnant women in prison to get Amnesty worked up in the first place?

How, praytell, are they getting pregnant in prison?

Are they really all pregnant from being "raped while in prison?" While I'm sure it happens from time to time, I doubt it often results in pregnancy. More likely, these women are using their wiles to gain advantages from the guards.

[PETEPARSLEY]

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%3Fp%3Dshackled%2Bphotos%26ei%3DUTF-8&h=160&w=106&imgcurl=secure.surfnetcorp.com%2Fevilmagic%2Fimages%2FRE_charlottebikini3i.jpg&imgurl=secure.surfnetcorp.com%2Fevilmagic%2Fimages%2FRE_charlottebikini3i.jpg&size=5.3kB&name=RE_charlottebikini3i.jpg&rcurl=http%3A%2F%2Fsecure.surfnetcorp.com%2Facbuild%2Fshowdetl.cfm%3F%26DID%3D23%26Product_ID%3D261%26CATID%3D3&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fsecure.surfnetcorp.com%2Facbuild%2Fshowdetl.cfm%3F%26DID%3D23%26Product_ID%3D261%26CATID%3D3&p=shackled&type=jpeg&no=2&tt=385&fr=FP-tab-web-t

[Bikers4Bush]

If you don't shackle them how do you propose to stop them from grabbing a scalpel and slashing anyone within reach before, during or after childbirth? Make no mistake, scalpels would be in the delivery room in the event that they needed to perform a c section.

Don't kid yourself, some prisoners would go to any length to escape.

[vrwc0915]

ping for later

[aShepard]

????Now, how in the hell did you find that site?????

[formercalifornian]

I tend to agree with you. There has got to be a better way. Still, I am worried about women who might pretend to be in labor in order to make an escape. They don't have to actually be in labor when they are taken into a delivery room; I'm sure many are good at deception. And then escape would certainly be possible. Would a guard at the door be enough?

[anonymous_user]

Amnesty International must have solved all the world's other human rights problems to get to this terrible issue. /sarc.

[ahayes]

The guard would be stationed outside the door, the door would be locked.

I don't think that would be such a good idea in case there was an emergency.