Action | Amend Minimum Standards for Jails and Lockups to add requirements on restraint of pregnant offenders |
Stage | NOIRA |
Comment Period | Ended on 2/29/2012 |
I urge the Board of Corrections to withdraw any regulatory actions that would lead to the shackling and constraint of pregnant inmates during child birth. Such actions or requirements would humiliate and degrade the mother-to-be during the birth of her child. I can only surmise that such an action would further harden an inmate's already negative attitude about life and society. The birth of a child surely can be a transforming moment for a woman, an opportunity to see the beauty in life and one that many of these women have never known. Can we not use this very special moment to give these women and their children dignity and compassion.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Robert H. Trainor