Scholarly Sources

Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York: New, 2010, 2011. Print.

Michelle Alexander directly challenges the notion that the election of Barack Obama signals a new era of colorblindness. She argues that “we have not ended racial caste in America, we have merely redesigned it.” By targeting black man through the War on Drugs and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control — relegating millions to a permanent second-class status — even as it formally adheres to the principle of colorblindness. In the words of Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO, this book is a “call to action” that forces us to face the brutal realities in the American criminal justice system.

Chen, Elizabeth J. "Restoring Rights for Reproductive Justice." Journal of Gender, Social Policy, & the Law 22.2 (2014): 281-301. American University Washington College of Law. Web. 3 May 2016.

Chen discusses the reproductive justice framework and argues that it is equally important to advocate for women to have reproductive choices that permit them to have wanted children, as it is to ensure they can make choices to not have unwanted children. She mentions multiple advocacy groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Rebecca Project for Human rights, which have all surveyed the law in each state on a number of crucial measures, but the work should not stop there as all forms of reproductive oppression are necessarily written into law or administrative regulations.

Doetzer, Geraldine. "Hard Labor: The Legal Implications of Shackling Female Inmates During Pregnancy and Childbirth." William and Mary Journal of Women and the Law 14.363 (2008): 363-92. Print.

Geraldine Doetzer contends that female inmates and their advocates have to turn to alternative methods of relief from shackling, straying away from legislative efforts and pushing for innovative prison programs that provide adequate prenatal and postnatal care within the limitations of a correctional environment. Doetzer provides policy based evidence with the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996, claiming that the “additional administrative exhaustion” and “physical proof of injury requirements” requires prisoners to meet a much higher standard than non-incarcerated plaintiffs, essentially making litigation an inefficient tool in trying to achieve reproductive justice. The author aims her arguments towards lawmakers and advocators as she emphasizes the need to prevent future injury to incarcerated mothers and stop human rights violations on female prisoners.

Ferszt, Ginette G., Joyce E. Hickey, and Kimberly Seleyman. "Advocating for Pregnant Women in Prison." Journal of Forensic Nursing 9.2 (2013): 105-10. International Association of Forensic Nurses. Web. 3 May 2016.

Ferszt et al. argues that nurses in correctional settings play a strategic role in improving the health care for incarcerated women by promoting nursing intervention, incorporating standards of care, and advocating for changes in policies. This article provides medical evidence for the dangers of high-risk pregnancies and stresses for a close working relationship between nurses and pregnant inmates in order to ensure comprehensive prenatal health care that includes prenatal vitamins; frequent OB/GYN visits, nutritionally adequate diets, and appropriate work assignments. The authors clearly state that the purpose of this paper is to provide information for correctional nurses who work with female inmates and educate correctional staff about the potential dangers that may result from high-risk pregnancies.

Sussman, Dana. BOUND BY INJUSTICE: CHALLENGING THE USE OF SHACKLES ON INCARCERATED PREGNANT WOMEN 15 (2009): 477-502. Cardozo Law and Gender. Cardozo Journal of Law & Gender, 24 Apr. 2009. Web. 3 May 2016.

Dana Sussman provides an expansive agenda of advocacy that ensures a full spectrum of reproductive rights for incarcerated women, including preventative reproductive healthcare, access to contraception, comprehensive prenatal health care, parenting counseling, and the right to give birth without physical restraints. Sussman constructs her argument around a human rights framework, incorporating international doctrines into her claims, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and touches upon the Eighth Amendment prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishment” to argue that the deplorable health care standards found in female prisons is a clear and direct violation of a prisoner’s right to humanity. This article encourages reproductive rights advocates to build on the gains of the human rights community in order to bring international legal claims to challenge the shockingly poor standard of women’s health care in American prisons, specifically the egregious practice of shackling pregnant inmates.

Works Cited

Buttenweiser, Susan. "Shackled and In Labor." Women's Media Center. The Women's Media Center, 10 Mar. 2015. Web.

Gebreyes, Rahel. "Prisons Are Illegally Shackling Pregnant Women While In Labor." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 12 Mar. 2015. Web. 03 May 2016.

"Governor Cuomo Signs Legislation to Prohibit Shackling of Pregnant Inmates During Transportation." Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. N.p., 22 Dec. 2015. Web. 29 May 2016.

Nation Inside. "An Alternative Report to the Fourth Periodic Report of the United States of America Submitted Pursuant to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights." THE SHACKLING OF INCARCERATED PREGNANT WOMEN: A HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION COMMITTED REGULARLY IN THE UNITED STATES(n.d.): n. pag. Nation Inside. University of Chicago Law School, Aug. 2013. Web. Apr. 2016.

Prisoners Illegally Shackled While Giving Birth. Perf. Tamar Kraft-Stolar, Melissa Jeltsen, Miyhosi Benton, Maria Caraballo. Huffington Post. Huffpost Live, 10 Mar. 2015. Web.

Quinn, Audrey. "Former Inmates Address Reproductive Justice in NY Prisons | The Investigative Fund." Former Inmates Address Reproductive Justice in NY Prisons | The Investigative Fund. The Nation Institute, Oct. 2014. Web. 03 May 2016.

Quinn, Audrey. "In Labor, in Chains." The New York Times. The New York Times, 26 July 2014. Web. 03 May 2016.

Schoenberg, Shira |. "Prisoners' Rights Advocates Say Pregnant Inmates Still Being Shackled during Labor." Masslive.com. MassLive LCC, 08 Dec. 2015. Web. 29 May 2016.

Simone, Jacquie. "Unbinding Pregnant Inmates | The Indypendent."Unbinding Pregnant Inmates | The Indypendent. The Indypendent, 9 July 2009. Web. 16 May 2016.

"Women in Prison Project." Project » About the » Correctional Association of New York: Correctional Association of New York: A Force for Progressive Change in the Criminal Justice System Since 1844. The Correctional Association of New York, n.d. Web. 03 May 2016.