I’m not sure if this has been posted here yet, but its been all over the web recently.  Earlier this month, in a 6-5 decision, an en banc 8th Circuit  Court of Appeals overturned last year’s decision by a three judge panel for the Circuit and held that constitutional protections against shackling pregnant women during labor had been clearly established by decisions of the Supreme Court and the lower courts. The full decision is available HERE.

The Americn Civil Liberties Union, which represented the prisoner who brought the complaint, recently issued a Press Release describing the facts of the case as follows:

[Shawanna] Nelson was a 29-year-old non-violent offender who was six months pregnant with her second child when she was incarcerated by the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADOC) in June 2003. Three months later, after going into labor, she was taken to a local hospital where correctional officers shackled her legs to opposite sides of the bed. Nelson remained shackled to the bed for several hours of labor until she was finally taken to the delivery room.

The shackles caused Nelson cramps and intense pain, as she could not adjust her position during contractions. She was unshackled during delivery, but was immediately re-shackled after the birth of her son. After childbirth, the use of shackles caused her to soil the sheets of her bed because she could not be unshackled quickly enough to get to a bathroom.

Elizabeth Alexander, Director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Prison Project, hailed the victory:

This is a historic decision by a U.S. Court of Appeals that affirms the dignity of all women and mothers in America…Correctional officials across the country are now on notice that they can no longer engage in this widespread practice.

The fact that this case was such a close split boggles my mind. Then again, there were additional questions in the case relating to qualified immunity of correctional officers that don’t necessarily pertain to the question of whether the federal constitution provides protections for the prisoner in this context.

Until relatively recently, I was unaware of the practice of shackling pregnant women in labor immediately before and after delivery. In fact, I never would have imagined that such a practice existed. This summer Mr. David Mack brought to my attention that this was the practice of our own state of Florida until somewhat recently. I am seldom shocked or surprised by the indignity humans inflict on one another, but this is one of the most inhuman practices I have ever heard of. Lets hope we reach a day soon where this practice is a relic of a cruel past of which we are all ashamed.

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