I commend the Board of Corrections and the McDonnell and McAuliffe administrations for supporting these regulations.  I also thank the Board for implementing a compassionate and commonsense policy. Once the regulations are in effect, I urge personnel at local and regional jails not to undermine their intent by considering every inmate a “flight risk” just because they are an inmate.  Local and regional jail officials also should ensure that every “individualized determination” that a particular pregnant inmate is a “risk” is based solely on the specific facts relating to the individual under consideration and that these facilities annually report any use of restraints on pregnant women.

The vast majority of female inmates are non-violent offenders who pose a low security risk—particularly during labor, delivery, and postpartum recovery.  In the states that have outlawed the restraint of pregnant inmates, there have been no documented instances of a woman in labor or delivery escaping or causing harm to themselves, guards, or medical staff.

National correctional and medical associations oppose the restraint of pregnant women because it is unnecessary and harmful to a woman and to her fetus or newborn. The Federal Bureau of Prisons, the U.S. Marshals Service, the American Correctional Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Medical Association, and the American Public Health Association have recognized that restraining women during labor, delivery, and postpartum recovery is unnecessary and dangerous to a woman’s health and well-being and may harm the baby being delivered. Restraining pregnant women is dangerous and inhumane. As a society we can and must do better.

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