Punishing Pregnant Women

I learned from an activist alert from Sister Song, a reproductive justice collective for women of color, that a horrifying decision was made concerning shackling in the 8th Circuit. The decision upholds that it is not unconstitutional for policies to exist that allow law enforcement institutions to shackle pregnant women during labor. Arkansas resident and appellee Shawanna Nelson's lawyer is petitioning for a rehearing and is receiving assistance from the ACLU. I am hopeful that this petition is successful, in addition to the work National Advocates for Pregnant Women and the Rebecca Project for Human Rights are doing to ensure that this petition is reheard by the 8th Circuit. It is outrageous that women in America are being denied their basic human and civil rights during the process of active labor and delivery. This act of brutality and human degradation is often ignored by the mainstream media because of the racialized subjects who are the majority of the women who experience this indignity.