To safeguard the humane treatment of pregnant women by ensuring the presumption of release and prohibiting shackling, restraining, and other inhumane treatment of pregnant detained noncitizens, and for other purposes.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · November 8, 2023
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
The Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from detaining pregnant, lactating, or postpartum noncitizens during immigration proceedings, except in rare cases where they pose an immediate threat to themselves or others or need to be detained briefly before deportation. The bill requires that detained pregnant women be released immediately and reviewed every two weeks to determine if continued detention is necessary. The legislation bans the use of physical restraints on pregnant women during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and recovery, with only extremely limited exceptions that require the least restrictive restraint possible, and explicitly prohibits certain restraints like leg shackles, waist chains, and four-point restraints under any circumstances. The bill mandates that pregnant detainees receive comprehensive reproductive health care, including prenatal care, mental health services, and abortion services, and prohibits nonmedical staff from being present during medical exams and childbirth unless requested by medical personnel. Finally, the law requires detention facilities to submit quarterly reports documenting restraint use, the number and length of pregnancies detained, and pregnancy outcomes, with the Department of Homeland Security conducting annual audits and submitting public reports to Congress, and mandates annual training for all DHS employees involved in detaining pregnant women.
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