The Real Price of Prisons: The Michigan Independent has been at the forefront in bringing you news about local organizing efforts against the prison industrial complex. Please bring your attention to the latest issue of Mother Jones, which contains a series of articles about how America’s prison system is wreaking havoc within our nation’s economy.
Shackling Pregnant Women in ICE Custody: The Rebecca Project for Human Rights is circulating a letter to petition against the shackling of pregnant women in the custody of the Immigration Customs and Enforcement agency (ICE).
The letter states that “incarcerated pregnant women are typically non-violent offenders and hardly constitute a security threat during the painful stages of labor and the delivery of their children”. California, Illinois and Vermont have enacted laws that prohibit the shackling of pregnant women in nearly all circumstances. Since the enactment of these states anti-shackling laws, there have been no reported situations of a pregnant woman posing a security threat or flight risk.
Not only is the shackling of pregnant women in custody unnecessary, but potentially harmful to the mother and fetus. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) in a June 2007 report, “physical restraints have interfered with the ability of physicians to safely practice medicine by reducing their ability to assess and evaluate the physical condition of the mother and fetus, and have similarly made the labor and delivery process more difficult than it needs to be; thus, overall, putting the health and lives of the women and unborn children at risk.”
Whether or not you intend to send out this letter, it is well-written, informative and deserves your attention.
To: The Honorable Julie L. Myers
Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
425 I. Street, NW
Washington, DC 20536
Dear Assistant Secretary Myers:
We are a group of organizations and advocates concerned about the practice of restraining female detainees during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and post-delivery. We write to request that ICE include language in the standards governing ICE detention practices that prohibits the use of shackles or restraints on pregnant women in ICE custody.
We are aware that under your leadership ICE issued a humanitarian protocol that addresses discretionary release of pregnant women, sole care givers, and nursing mothers. We also appreciate that in certain individual cases ICE has exercised discretion to release from ICE custody near-term pregnant women so that they could deliver their children in a non-custodial setting. We applaud these actions and respectfully request that attention also be given to the plight of pregnant women who remain in ICE custody.
We understand that earlier this year, ICE solicited comments from members of the DHS-NGO Enforcement Working Group (”ICE Working Group”) on ICE’s draft Performance Based National Detention Standards (”PBNDS”). We also understand that the PBNDS are expected to be issued in 2008 and will override the existing Detention Operations Manual. The current detention standard on Use of Force does not squarely address the use of shackles or restraints, but states the following:
Medical staff shall prescribe the precautions required to protect the fetus, including the manner in which the pregnant detainee will be restrained, the advisability of a medical professional’s presence when restraints are applied, and the medical necessity of restraining the detainee in the facility hospital or a local medical facility.
The January 2008 Residential Detention Standards contain similar language, and we assume that the proposed PBNDS will reflect the same policy. While we understand that the ICE Working Group’s formal submission of comments to your office was completed some weeks ago, we would be grateful for the opportunity to submit the following comments and recommendations to ICE on this narrow and compelling issue. We urge ICE to adopt language prohibiting the use of restraints on pregnant women in both the PBNDS and the Residential Detention Standards.
Until recently, the needless shackling of pregnant women was routinely conducted in American prisons and jails, but this is no longer the case. Now, the dangerous practice of shackling pregnant women is being reconsidered and in many cases prohibited due to both proven and potential harm to the mother and child. In June 2007, the American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) released a statement calling for an end to the practice of shackling mothers in labor and delivery as “physical restraints have interfered with the ability of physicians to safely practice medicine by reducing their ability to assess and evaluate the physical condition of the mother and 2 fetus, and have similarly made the labor and delivery process more difficult than it needs to be; thus, overall, putting the health and lives of the women and unborn children at risk.”1 State legislatures and Departments of Correction have also responded to the sea change in shackling policy. California, Illinois, and Vermont have enacted laws prohibiting the practice of shackling pregnant women in nearly all circumstances. Lawmakers in these states recognized that incarcerated pregnant women are typically non-violent offenders and hardly constitute a security threat during the painful stages of labor and the delivery of their children. There have been no reported situations of pregnant women posing a security threat or flight risk in California, Illinois, or Vermont since the enactment of their anti-shackling laws.
Policy reviews on restraining pregnant women have also been conducted at the federal level. On October 31, 2007, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) released new post-order language that discouraged the use of metal waist restraints on pregnant offenders and prohibited the placing of pregnant women in a face down, four-point restraint.2 The BOP post-order also prohibits placing of pregnant women in restraint belts that directly constrict the area of pregnancy.3 And, in April 2008, President Bush signed into law the Second Chance Act, which will require that all federal correctional facilities document the instances in which it is necessary to place a pregnant woman in restraints during labor and delivery.
Clearly, the federal government, state governments and the medical community are concerned about the practice of restraining or shackling pregnant women. We urge ICE to consider these concerns when revising its own policies and practices. We are not currently aware of an instance of an ICE detainee being shackled during delivery but urge ICE to adopt language to ensure that such a situation never occurs. Unfortunately, non-governmental organizations have reported that pregnant women are shackled by ICE when being transported to and from medical appointments. 4 Similarly, anecdotal reports of the shackling of pregnant women have surfaced at the Northwest Detention Center in Washington State.5
As noted above, ICE’s current policy, as reflected in the Detention Operations Manual and the ICE/DRO Residential & Family Standards, is to require medical staff to advise and prescribe precautions regarding the use of restraints on pregnant detainees. Rather than leaving restraint practices solely under the direction of medical staff, we urge ICE to
follow the lead of the BOP and adopt the same specific practices and prohibitions regarding the use of restraints on pregnant women embodied in the revised BOP Post Orders. We further urge ICE to prohibit any policy or practice that allows the routine restraint of pregnant women during medical appointments (and travel to and from the same), labor, delivery, and post-delivery. The risks to women and children 3 are simply too great. The experience of California, Illinois, and Vermont clearly demonstrate that routine shackling of pregnant women is not necessary to ensure safety and security. We thank you for your attention to this important matter and would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss this matter further. Should you need any additional information, please contact Malika Saada Saar, Executive Director, The Rebecca Project at 202-265-3907 or malika@rebeccaproject.org.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
cc: The Honorable Richard J. Durbin, Senator