National Partnership for Women & Families

Women's Health Policy Report

October 14, 2009

A federal appeals court sent a powerful message when it ruled that prison officials may have violated the Constitution when they shackled an Arkansas woman during labor, though the 6-5 ruling "was uncomfortably close," according to a New York Times editorial. "The practice of keeping female prisoners in shackles while they give birth is barbaric," but it is legal in more than 40 states, and "advocates of prisoners' rights say it is all too common," the editorial says.

The ruling involves the case of Shawanna Nelson, a 29-year-old nonviolent offender whose legs were shackled to the side of a hospital bed as she gave birth, even though "there was no reason to consider her a flight risk," the Times states. Nelson later sued prison officials, arguing that the shackles constrained her from moving during the most painful parts of labor and caused "a permanent hip injury, torn stomach muscles, an umbilical hernia that required an operation and extreme mental anguish."

The suit alleged violations of Nelson's Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. Nelson won a trial court ruling, but a circuit court rejected her suit, which then went to the federal appeals court.

The appeals court's ruling "should help persuade other courts and state legislatures that the shackling of pregnant prisoners is unconstitutional," the editorial says. It notes that several states, including New York earlier this year, have made the practice illegal. "It is clearly an important victory," but "[s]adly, it is also a sign of how low the bar has been set for the humane treatment of prisoners," the editorial concludes (New York Times, 10/14).