The past few years have been a rollercoaster for women’s rights in the United States. While some states have
been steadily chipping away at women’s freedoms, other states have strengthened rights and protections. The
Guttmacher Institute’s State Legislation Tracker shows that in 2021 multiple states proposed legislation to improve health services with the ultimate goal of lowering rates of maternal mortality. Colorado is one state that paid specific attention to its incarcerated maternal population.
Carceral Changes in the Centennial State
Gov. Jared Polis (D) of Colorado signed the Birth Equity Bill Package in July of 2021. Harvard Law’s Bill of Health lists the main contents of the bill, which includes expanding care options for pregnant people, clearly defining hospital policies concerning childbirth, and proposing more studies of maternity care in the hopes of getting more ideas for future improvements. The final piece of this legislation, SB21-193, is the main focus of this post and it deals with the needs of incarcerated pregnant people.
The topic of incarcerated pregnant women’s rights has long been an issue in the US, with one of the more pressing concerns being the shackling of pregnant people in correctional and health facilities. The ACLU has strongly opposed the shackling of pregnant women, describing it as “dangerous and inhumane”. Shackling is a risk to both a pregnant person and the fetus, especially in cases of tripping and falling, and it has the potential to get in the way of medical care. Colorado had previously passed legislation to restrict the rates of shackling pregnant people, and the Birth Equity Bill Package added a condition that facilities now have to report any instance of when and why shackling a pregnant person takes place, and facilities must make those reports publicly available.
Another notable part of SB21-193 is requiring correctional facilities to provide pregnant and postpartum people with specialized care, good nutrition and supplies, and resources like counseling for pregnant people with past trauma. Corrections facilities are also required to develop procedures that encourage bonding with newborns post-birth, giving education on pregnancy and parenting, and offering referrals for other health care and social services to pregnant and postpartum people leaving custody as described by the Guttmacher Institute.
The Court of Public Opinion
The changes that the Birth Equity Bill Package implemented work to continue improving conditions for incarcerated women, girls, and pregnant people. The bill didn’t cause too much of an uproar because it was mainly expansions on previous legislations. A bit of resistance did come from the Colorado Catholic Conference as reported by The Denver Post. The opposition focused on a small part of the package due to the possibility that a viable pregnancy could end if a pregnant person’s care plan didn’t cover that specific situation.
The passing of the Birth Equity Bill Package is a step forward for incarcerated pregnant people, and it serves as a good starting point for other states, but there is still work to be done. Protections for women are even more at-risk with the reversal of Roe and other restrictive laws being introduced, but progress is still possible, and progress like SB21-193 must become the standard.
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