Effort To Keep Pregnant NC Prisoners Healthy Limits Shackles

There’s a bipartisan effort to better care for pregnant North Carolina prisoners and jail inmates before and after they deliver their babies. State legislators scheduled a Tuesday news conference to unveil a proposal that has support from the American Civil Liberties Union, the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association and OB-GYNs. The bill would severely limit the handcuffing and shackling of pregnant women who are incarcerated and seek to ensure newborns and their mothers are cared for well. Shackling often involves chaining both wrists and ankles. Over 30 states have passed legislation limiting the shackling of pregnant women behind bars.