Limiting Shackling
This legislation will limit the circumstances and methods under which pregnant women incarcerated in facilities in Washington may be restrained. The bill bans the use of all restraints on inmates who are in labor or post-delivery recovery. It also limits restraints on pregnant inmates who are being transported to medical care or court proceedings while in the third trimester of pregnancy.
The measure responds to a number of complaints that pregnant women—including some women in labor—have been handcuffed in ways that have resulted in physical harm to their health. This kind of shackling infringes upon a woman's constitutionally protected reproductive freedom, and especially burdens poor women and women of color, who are over-represented in the prison system. A companion bill (SB 6500) was sponsored by Sen. Karen Fraser.
