Shackling

Most mothers behind bars are restrained during labor, delivery and post-delivery as a matter of routine practice in our nation's jails and prisons.

Last week, in a historic ruling, a federal Court of Appeals held that the U.S. Constitution protects pregnant women in prison from the inhumane practice of shackling during labor.

There is an international consensus that shackling is an intolerable practice, irreconcilable with human rights principles, along with prohibitions against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment.