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Two young pregnant women, legs and arms, chained to hospital beds like animals. For Jennifer Farrar and Cora Fletcher, low level offenders incarcerated during pregnancy, this harsh scene proved an agonizing reality for them both.
Belly chains, handcuffs, and leg irons were all used to hold these women in place as they underwent the pains of labor. Like ferocious beasts of the wilderness, Cora and Jennifer, were forced to accept the shameful conditions, which corrections officials imposed upon these two soon to be mothers.
"It was difficult to try to have a baby like that....you can't move around like how you want to," stated Cora, whose stillborn child's birth was hindered by the large chains curled around her.
For Jennifer, the chains wrapped around her legs were not removed, until the moment of birth was clearly imminent. "Here I am, a mother giving birth...it should be a happy time in my life. I know that I did something wrong....but it wasn't like I was a murderer," Jennifer tells us.
Many states have taken legislative measures against the antiquated practice of shackling women in labor. The state assemblies in California, Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, New York, Texas, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, have sent a clear message – not in our state!
Help Justice Fellowship eliminate the "Shackling of Women during Childbirth" in states that have not officially banned this “barbaric” practice!
To find out more about Jennifer and Cora, please read the National Public Radio's article about them by clicking here!
Help stop "chained births" now! Please visit Justice Fellowship’s key issues page for more information about ending the shackling of female inmates during childbirth.
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