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Nevada inmate shackled before giving birth sues

Read the story at http://goo.gl/3PqVH Yahoo! News.

The controversial and barbaric practice of shackling incarcerated women in labor brings to mind distinct visuals, namely one question that no answer can quite suffice. Why? Experts have said the the probability of the woman's escape from custody is not higher if she is not shacked during labor, and that running or doing anything physical unrelated to the labor has almost never occurred. Yet this outdated  and unnecessary policy remains on the books in many states. One has to wonder if the fact that people simply don't know this happens is the larger factor in why we still shackle moms in childbirth, or if enough people are aware and are just uncomfortable being in the hospital room next to the mom that came in with a police escort. If enough doctors and hospitals were to be involved in the campaign to to end shackling during childbirth nationally, it would a successful and short lived one. The fact remains that we are doing this at a human and material cost. Consider experiencing a trauma like giving birth as an inmate, stacked atop being shackled during the epic pain of natural childbirth, What likely results to the mother is a recipe for forms of mental illness like postpartum depression, anxiety, and even dementia. When this mother is released she will need the assistance of re-entry agencies and social service providers to help her salvage the pieces of her life and start fresh, and try to put the harrowing recollection of cells and chained childbirth behind her. But to think we can do this with out addressing the deeper underlying problem is a mistake. The connection between mental illness, addiction, women, and traumatic separation from family is at the root cause of the rise in mass incarceration of women. We all help to feed the jails and prisons with obvious re-offenders, and people who have not received sufficient discharge services in lieu of treatment and solving the actual problem, as the cries to end torture and inhumane treatment in the form of solitary confinement at Rikers Island (among other jails) reach a fever pitch. Cries to abstain, but then what next? The new torture? A different kind of jail? The invisible bars of mental illness don't have to be the path to the revolving door. Only through education, healthcare, honest dialogue, and real common sense action can we renew the way we look at women's issues. To do so would end cycles of violence, oppression and destruction in our community. To reach the child in prevention, is to teach through the mother the cure.

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 The Social Justice Champion brings you news you care about, and reflects the things that impact our communities. The ripple effect of shared knowledge is an empowering force, and TSJC is proud to be a source of reliable content and editorials for activists, organizers, and progressive communities who care.