Booker, Durbin, Hirono Reintroduce Legislation to Improve Maternal Health Care for Incarcerated Moms

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) reintroduced the Justice for Incarcerated Moms Act , legislation to improve care for pregnant and postpartum women who are incarcerated. The bill would fund high-quality maternal health care and support programs in prisons and jails, commission research on the maternal health crisis behind bars, and incentivize states and localities to end the shackling of pregnant people. “Every person, including those who are incarcerated, deserves dignity and support at all stages of motherhood,” said Senator Booker. “A woman’s incarceration does not diminish her humanity or her worth, and it should never mean she is denied the basic care every mother deserves. We have a moral obligation to protect these mothers and their babies.” “No mother should have to deliver their child while shackled. Our correctional system should have standard practices and programs to ensure that moms who are incarcerated get the care they need to have healthy and safe pregnancies and deliveries,” said Senator Durbin. “I’m proud to join Senators Booker and Hirono to introduce the Justice for Incarcerated Moms Act to improve maternal and child health outcomes for incarcerated individuals.” “Far too many women in prison and jail are forced to give birth in shackles—a practice that is both cruel and needlessly dangerous to mother and child,” said Senator Hirono. “This commonsense legislation protects maternal health in prisons by banning shackling a woman during childbirth and by funding comprehensive healthcare and wellness support before, during, and after childbirth.” According to the Prison Policy Initiative, nearly 200,000 women and girls are incarcerated in the United States on any given day. Incarcerated women face a heightened risk of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, and these poor outcomes disproportionately affect Black women, who are imprisoned at 1.6 times the rate of white women. Specifically, the Justice for Incarcerated Moms Act would: Incentivize state and local prisons and jails to end the practice of shackling pregnant people. Provide funding for federal, state, and local prisons and jails to establish programs for pregnant and postpartum people in their facilities, including access to doulas and other perinatal health workers, counseling, reentry assistance, and maternal-infant bonding opportunities, as well as diversion programs that keep pregnant and postpartum people out of incarceration. Commission a comprehensive study on maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity among incarcerated people, with a particular focus on racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes. The Justice for Incarcerated Moms Act is endorsed by The Sentencing Project; Campaign Legal Center; Chicago Votes; Civil Survival; Community Spring; Dream.Org; Empowering Descendant Communities to Unlock Democracy; Equity and Transformation; EXPO of Wisconsin; FirstFollowers; Gift of Voice; Healing Our Land Inc; Illinois Alliance for Reentry and Justice; Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishments; Just Future Project; Live Free Illinois; More Than Our Crimes; National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys; National Coalition for Prisoner Voting Rights; NCJW Chicago North Shore; Raise The Floor Alliance; SACRED Acts (South Asian American Coalition to Renew Democracy Acts); Unlock Civics Coalition; Unlock Civics NM; Urban Community Unity Solutions LLC; Vermont Citizens and United for the Rehabilitation of Errants. To read the full text of the bill, click here. ###