Senator Patty Murray's office issued the following earlier this week:
Senator Murray Reintroduces Bill to Stop Trump Administration from Detaining and Shackling Pregnant Women
Senator Murray, and 24 cosponsors, reintroduce legislation following recent incident where a pregnant woman detained by ICE went into labor prematurely, ending in a stillbirth
Senator Murray first introduced the legislation last summer following reports of pregnant women in ICE custody receiving inhumane treatment
Last March, Trump Administration publicly ended Obama-era policy against detaining pregnant women despite opposition of more than 250 civil and human rights organizations
Senator Murray secured
language in recent government funding deal to place new restrictions on
Trump Administration’s ability to shackle pregnant women
Senator Murray: “I’m not going
to stop fighting to make the Trump Administration do the right
thing—end this immoral policy and make sure pregnant women get the
medical care they need.”
(Washington, D.C.) — Today, Senator Patty
Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and 24 cosponsors, reintroduced the Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act.
The legislation would protect the health and safety of pregnant women
and youth by reinstituting the presumption of release of pregnant women
and youth in immigration detention, further prohibiting the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from shackling pregnant women in
its custody, and setting new standards of care and transparency for the
treatment of pregnant women and youth.
The bill was first introduced last summer in light of reports
of mistreatment of pregnant women in U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) custody, and was reintroduced on the heels of a recent
Washington Post report about a women in ICE custody whose pregnancy ended in a stillbirth after she went into labor prematurely.
“It’s deeply disappointing that the Trump
Administration hasn’t reversed course on its heartless and dangerous
policy of detaining pregnant women, which puts the health of mothers and
infants at risk,” said Senator Murray. “I’m not going to
stop fighting to make the Trump Administration do the right thing—end
this immoral policy and make sure pregnant women get the medical care
they need.”
The legislation is cosponsored by Senator Tammy
Baldwin (D-WI), Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Senator Cory Booker
(D-NJ), Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Senator
Chris Coons (D-DE), Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Senator Tammy
Duckworth (D-IL), Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senator Dianne Feinstein
(D-CA), Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA),
Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Senator
Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), Senator Bob Menendez
(D-NJ), Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Senator
Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), Senator Tom Udall
(D-NM), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR).
The Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act
has been endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union, American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Women’s Refugee Commission,
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, Planned Parenthood
Federation of America, NARAL Pro-Choice America, The Center for
Reproductive Rights, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum,
Human Rights Watch, Church World Service, MomsRising, Amnesty
International, Anti-Defamation League, March of Dimes, National Council
of Jewish Women, Inc, and the National Women’s Law Center.
As part of Senator Murray’s ongoing efforts on
this issue, she also successfully fought to include language in the FY
2019 appropriations bill putting new restrictions on the ability of DHS
to restrain pregnant women in its custody. (see Div. A, Title V SEC. 533)
See below for background or click HERE for one pager.
See the text of the Stop Shackling and Detaining Women Act HERE.
Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act
U.S. Senator Patty Murray
Background
In March, 2018, despite statements of opposition and letters signed by more than 250 civil and human rights organizations[1]
the Trump Administration publicly announced it had ended the policy of
presumed release of pregnant women and youth in immigration detention.
The administration rescinded the policy—in secret—in December.[2]
According to an internal memo published on March 29, 2018, ICE no
longer honors the previous policy, and instead makes a “case-by-case
custody determination taking any special factors into account” when
considering pregnant women and youth.[3] Prior
to December 2017, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) only
detained a pregnant woman or youth if she was a threat to herself or
others, or was a public safety risk. Between December and April ICE
detained more than 500 pregnant women.[4]
Under the new policy, pregnant women in ICE detention do not have
access to appropriate prenatal medical care and have miscarried in ICE
custody.[5]
The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Academy of
Family Physicians wrote, “[t]he decision puts the health of women and
adolescents and their pregnancies at great risk.”[6]
Shackling places women who are already at high-risk for
pregnancy-related complications in more danger, interferes with safe
medical practice and with normal labor and delivery, and puts the health
of women and their pregnancies at great risk.[7]
Legislative Summary
To protect the health and safety of pregnant women and youth in detention, the Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act
will reinstate the presumption of release of pregnant women and youth,
set minimum standards for health care, prohibit shackling, and require
public reporting on the detention of pregnant women.
- Reinstates the presumption of release of pregnant women and youth, with exceptions only when the DHS Secretary makes an individualized determination that credible, reasonable grounds exist to believe that the person presents an immediate and serious threat of hurting herself or others. If detained, only the least restrictive means of detention are permitted with a weekly review mandated.
- Prohibits the shackling of pregnant women in custody at any time during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum recovery.
- Sets a minimum standards of comprehensive health care for any pregnant women or youth in custody including: routine or specialized prenatal care, comprehensive counseling, postpartum follow-up services, lactation services, and abortion services.
- Requires pregnant women and youth in custody are given privacy during a pelvic exam, labor, delivery, or treatment of any other symptom relating to a pregnancy.
- Requires public quarterly reporting on detention of pregnant women and youth, including audits and reports to Congress.
[1] Letter to ICE Acting Director Homan (April 11, 2018) https://www.reproductiverights.org/sites/crr.civicactions.net/files/documents/ICE%20sign-on%20letter%20FINAL%204.11.18.pdf
[2] Lopez, Victoria , “Working to Uncover How ICE Treats Pregnant Women in Detention” (May 3, 2018) https://www.aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/immigrants-rights-and-detention/working-uncover-how-ice-treats-pregnant-women
[3] The Hill, “ICE Will Detain Pregnant Women, Ending Previous Policy” (March 29, 2018) http://thehill.com/latino/380827-ice-will-detain-pregnant-women-ending-previous-policy
[4] NPR, “Pregnant and Detained” (April 6, 2018) https://www.npr.org/2018/04/05/599802820/pregnant-and-detained
[5] BuzzFeed, “Pregnant Women Say They Miscarried In Immigration Detention And Didn't Get The Care They Needed” (July 9, 2018) https://www.buzzfeed.com/emaoconnor/pregnant-migrant-women-miscarriage-cpb-ice-detention-trump?utm_term=.odgNJmwNW#.raoDd49D0
[6]
American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians
and Gynecologists, and the American Academy of Family Physicians, Letter
to ICE Acting Director Homan (March 30, 2018) https://www.acog.org/-/media/Departments/Government-Relations-and-Outreach/2018ACOG-AAP-AAFP-LTRtoICE.pdf?dmc=1&ts=20180703T2345467948
[7] American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, “Health Care for Unauthorized Immigrants” (March 2015) https://www.acog.org/Clinical-Guidance-and-Publications/Committee-Opinions/Committee-on-Health-Care-for-Underserved-Women/Health-Care-for-Pregnant-and-Postpartum-Incarcerated-Women-and-Adolescent-Females
