JUSTICE ACTION NETWORK APPLAUDS PASSAGE OF PREGNANT WOMEN IN CUSTODY ACT, HAILS REPS. BASS, RESCHENTHALER, CLARK & LESKO’S BIPARTISAN COLLABORATION
Justice Action Network’s Holly Harris: “The passage of the Pregnant Women in Custody Act is another bipartisan win for criminal justice reform. Especially during a pandemic that has made our prisons and jails the most dangerous spots in the US, it is critical that pregnant women receive the proper treatment, health care, and services they need to protect themselves and their newborns.”
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, House lawmakers passed Reps. Bass, Clark, Reschenthaler, and Lesko’s bipartisan Pregnant Women in Custody Act. Reacting to this bill, Justice Action Network, the country’s largest bipartisan criminal justice reform advocacy organization, applauded the bill and celebrated it as a next step to the dignity provisions in the First Step Act, which prohibited the use of restraints on women during their pregnancy or postpartum recovery.
Please credit the following statement to Holly Harris, President and Executive Director of Justice Action Network:
“With only 35 days until the election, bipartisanship can feel as fleeting as ever, but on an issue of basic humanity, Democrats and Republicans agree – pregnant women in custody deserve access to adequate health care and services. Passing the Pregnant Women in Custody Act is another bipartisan win for criminal justice reform, following the crucial dignity provisions in the First Step Act..”
“Women in custody, and particularly pregnant women, are some of the most vulnerable people in our prisons today. And during a global pandemic that has made our prisons and jails the most dangerous hot spots for the spread of COVID-19, it is critical that pregnant women receive the proper safety precautions, health care, and services they need to protect themselves and their newborns.”
“This legislation honors the memory of Andrea High Bear, a young South Dakota mother convicted of a minor drug offense, who was sent to a crowded prison when she was eight months pregnant, contracted COVID-19, and died just weeks after having an emergency C-section. Her children will grow up without a mother because the prison system did not protect her. Her tragic death highlighted the failure of the Bureau of Prisons to protect vulnerable women in their care, and showed the need for Congressional intervention on this issue. We applaud Chairwoman Karen Bass, and Representatives Guy Reschenthaler, Katherine Clark and Debbie Lesko for putting partisan politics aside and reaching across the aisle to protect and support the lives of pregnant women in custody.”
The Pregnant Women in Custody Act would provide the following protections for incarcerated women:
Prohibit restraints and restrictive housing on incarcerated individuals who are pregnant or who have given birth within the last eight weeks.
Establish healthcare minimum standards for pregnant women, fetuses, and newborns in federal custody.
Collect data on incarcerated pregnant women’s mental and physical health, including the postpartum period.
Direct the Department of Justice, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to fund training and technical assistance to state and local corrections and law enforcement agencies, to ensure that restraints and restrictive housing are used in accordance with state laws.
Provide competitive grant funding for states that have a law addressing the treatment of incarcerated women that the Attorney General (AG) determines meets or exceeds federal standards established in this legislation.
In September, Chairwoman Bass joined Holly Harris for a discussion on the Pregnant Women in Custody Act, and the treatment of women in the criminal justice system. Their conversation was part of Justice Action Network’s Unconventional, a limited series on criminal justice reform and the role it plays in our politics.