A recent NBC News investigation, conducted in partnership with Bloomberg Law, has shed new light on a disturbing reality inside America’s prisons and jails: women giving birth alone, without medical assistance, and often in conditions that violate basic human dignity.
On Hallie Jackson Now, investigative journalists detailed accounts of incarcerated pregnant women forced to labor without help, sometimes calling for assistance for hours. In some facilities, the archaic and dangerous practice of shackling women during childbirth still continues, despite widespread condemnation from medical professionals and human-rights organizations.
Equally troubling is how little we truly know about the scope of this crisis. Many correctional systems do not track how many women give birth in custody or what happens to their newborns, because those infants are not legally considered “prisoners.” This lack of transparency makes it nearly impossible to measure outcomes, identify systemic failures, or build comprehensive reform.
What we do know comes largely from investigative journalism, advocacy groups, and litigation brought on behalf of women whose rights have been violated.
While changes are happening — some states have adopted anti-shackling laws, and others are updating policies for prenatal and postpartum care — progress is painfully slow and inconsistent.
At McKeen & Associates, PC, we believe that civil justice is not optional. It is fundamental.
No one, regardless of their past, should be forced to give birth alone, in chains, or without medical care. And no child should enter the world under such conditions.
The failure to protect pregnant women in custody is a failure of policy, oversight, and humanity. Civil rights, medical-malpractice, and negligence cases have long served as essential tools for exposing abuse and forcing institutions to change. As more women come forward and more investigative reporting uncovers these practices, legal accountability remains one of the strongest avenues for reform.
Every mother and newborn deserve basic safety, dignity, and care. Until that is guaranteed in every correctional facility in this country, the work is far from done.