In the words of Bitch writer Victoria Law, “Imagine a woman actively in labor. Now, imagine her handcuffed. Attached to those handcuffs is a chain that links her wrists to a chain wrapped around her belly. That belly chain is the same weight as a bicycle chain. Attached to her belly chain is yet another chain that attaches to shackles around her feet.” The process she describes is called shackling, specifically the shackling of pregnant female inmates. According to a report by the American Civil Liberties Union this act is banned in only 16 states, but even this ban is situation specific as it only holds for women who are actively giving birth.
The widespread acceptance of shackling is indicative of larger problems endemic to the female prison population, namely lack of adequate understanding surrounding the female experience (i.e. reproductive healthcare, rehabilitation regarding sexual/domestic violence, and treatment of pregnancy) by those involved in creating regulations to govern female prisoners.
The female prison population as a whole has long been in dire situations. Approximately two thirds of women in state and federal prisons can be identified as belonging to a minority group, and yet minority groups account for a mere 26 percent of the general female population. Despite the significant decrease in the rate of violent female crimes per capita, the rate of women in prison per capita continues to grow rapidly.
It is estimated that “three out of four women sentenced for violent crimes [commit] simple assault.” Sixty-one percent of women in state correctional facilities, and 72 percent of women in federal prisons, were “…behind bars for low-level drug offenses or for theft.” The majority of incarcerated females report experiencing physical or sexual abuse and assault before coming to prison. Not to mention the abundance of women like Marissa Alexander who are put behind bars after defending themselves from their violent abusers, who are generally, but not always, male.
Regardless of these circumstances, which highlight the low threat level many female prisoners present, shackling remains a standard for dealing with arrested or incarcerated women. The practice is not only overused, but can seriously harm the individual being shackled. The issue is especially problematic when it comes to pregnant inmates, and, as posited earlier, reflects a larger inability by the corrections system to adequately address the needs of female inmates.
The practice of shackling pregnant women poses a significant physical threat to both the mother and the baby and violates the state’s conception of decent treatment. Shackling during transport to a hospital makes it difficult for mothers to break their falls should there be an accident. Women are often shackled to the hospital bed during labor, not allowing the mother to move around to be more comfortable. This can create a hazardous situation should there be a medical emergency. Women are also “…routinely shackled immediately post-delivery, which significantly increases the risk of dangerous blood clots.”
There has been a significant outcry by the medical establishment regarding the practice of shackling female inmates, especially those who are pregnant. Shackling is considered unduly harmful by several medical establishments, including the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Many pregnant inmates have undiagnosed or untreated conditions such as depression, diabetes, hepatitis, hypertension, asthma, and drug addiction — indicators of high-risk pregnancies requiring special medical care — which are hard to administer if the mother is shackled. The Federal Bureau of Prisons, in addition to sixteen states, has banned the shackling of pregnant inmate. Yet, many states still allow it use on a routine basis. Shackling proponents believe that the flight risk and assault threat posed by unshackled inmates outweighs the harm that comes from shackling. Additionally, some cite the safety of the other women giving birth when advocating for shackles.
Massachusetts is the newest state to pass anti-shackling legislation. Representative Kay Khan (MA) and Senator Karen Spilka (D-MA) have proposed “An Act to Prevent Shackling and Promote Safe Pregnancies for Female Inmates.” This bill moves to “…prohibit the shackling of pregnant women in state and county correctional facilities during pregnancy, childbirth, and post-delivery recuperation unless they present a specific safety or flight risk. It would also, for the first time, establish minimum standards for the treatment and medical care of pregnant inmates, including inadequate nutrition, prenatal care and services for managing high-risk pregnancies, to promote safe, healthy pregnant outcomes.”
Many experts purport that approaches towards female criminality reflect “…ingrained racism and sexism, the devaluation of women and girls, and toleration of abuse in a male-dominated society as explanatory factors”. As Barbara Owen puts it, “the criminal justice system is not set up to take the complexity of their experience into account when sentencing them to prison but instead focuses on the single incident that violated the law”. A final piece of evidence is perhaps most telling: none of the fifteen states, which have banned shackling, ever documented an incident of an inmate escape or assault, the common fears cited for pro-shackling.
Given the inhumane nature of shackling, there have been few convincing arguments for maintaining the “…patchwork of inconsistent policies that make the health and safety of a woman’s care contingent upon geography or the institution where she happens to be houses.” Although the new Massachusetts legislation is a step in the right direction, the move only resolves an immediate problem that hints at the equally ridiculous policy oversights which condition women’s prisons across the country.