Born in chains: the American way of birth in prison

[marmar]

Born in chains: the American way of birth in prison
Thanks to its incarceration addiction, the US has the world's largest female prison population – but no plan for pregnancies

Sadhbh Walshe
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 25 August 2012


When DeShawn Balka was five-and-a-half months pregnant, she was sent to the Clayton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia for a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession. As her pregnancy was high-risk, she was housed in the jail's infirmary. On the night of 18 April 2012 she started experiencing nausea and stomach pain and called for medical assistance. According to her attorney, Mike Mills, and her two cell mates, her cries for help were not only ignored but, she was warned to shut up or else the entire ward would be put on lockdown.

Suddenly, DeShawn was screaming and her two cellmates began banging on their cell door. When the guard in charge finally came to her aid, she was found sitting on the toilet in tears. An investigation report issued by the Clayton County Sheriff's office describes in a rather chilling manner, their version of what happened next:

"When Sergeant Mayo got to cell 3508 she saw Inmate Balka sitting on the toilet crying. Sergeant Mayo told Inmate Balka to stand up so she could help the baby. Inmate Balka refused saying it hurt too much to stand. Sergeant Mayo finally convinced Inmate Balka to stand and when she did, Sergeant Mayo observed a baby face down in the toilet. Sergeant Mayo then grabbed the baby and held its face out of the water until medical arrived. LPN Eugene Andry responded and removed the baby from the toilet and started CPR."

It was too late, of course: the baby, Inyx O'Neil Balka, was never to get a shot at living, and his mother is now suing the county for neglect. The county in turn (via their investigation report) deny any wrongdoing. Whatever the outcome of the lawsuit, the case highlights the inherent dangers of placing pregnant women in prison – and the complete lack of any program or protocol to cater to their particular needs, never mind their unborn babies' welfare, once they get there.

Thanks to the war on drugs, and a general 30-year-long incarceration binge, the number of women in prison has increased by over 400%, to the point where America can now make the not-so-proud boast of having the largest female prison population in the world. The vast majority of these women are not only non-violent first-time offenders, they are frequently the victims of violence themselves, and their crimes are often crimes of addiction, either stealing to buy the substance of that addiction, or simply being caught in possession of it. Needless to mention, women of color are far more likely to end up in prison than their white counterparts. ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/26/born-in-chains-american-way-birth-prison

[barbtries]

1. a misdemeanor.

a misdemeanor! what the FUCK.
this country's moving back to the dark ages. it sucks.

[rocktivity]

2. Putting pregnant women in prison isn't the problem

Not putting proper pre-natal and post-natal care in prison is.


rocktivity