Attorney Rebecca Brodie to Give Birth in Shackles as Protest
Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 5:24AM
By emjaybee
I came across this amazing project thanks to a writeup by Miriam Zoila Pérez, founder of RadicalDoula and an editor at Feministing.
The proximity of the women’s prison and Brodie’s pro-bono legal work with incarcerated women is what inspired the protest she’s planning for December, when her third child is born. If all goes according to plan, she’ll be laboring and delivering her baby in metal restraints that restrict her arms and legs. She’s planning to simulate the same conditions that many incarcerated pregnant women face when delivering in state prisons and jails, including some of the women housed at the prison right by her home.
Currently, it is legal in 36 states to shackle pregnant inmates during labor and not uncommon to cuff a woman’s limbs to a hospital bed until delivery. Let’s give ACOG full props on this as well: they are adamantly opposed to this practice. (Though I have to wonder what Brodie’s OB will think about her participation).
“I’m sure you can create your own visual about a woman eight centimeters dilated and in labor. The chances of her getting up and running away are pretty slim,” said Jeanne Conry, a district chair of American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Brodie is apparently also planning a documentary on her protest, to be released next year.
For more information about the most recent case regarding shackling in labor, please read the documents in the Nelson v. Norris case, this blog post from National Advocates for Pregnant Women, and these posts from Our Bodies Our Blog and RH Reality Check.
Reader Comments (21)
Man. My whole body aches just thinking about doing that. Will be interested to see how it goes.
Not to make light of a henious practice but just wondering how many of these women are actually in hard core labor and shackled and how many opt for drugs? I propose an epidural is nothing more than shackling in another socially acceptable way.
@ Kinsey ... I don't know, but I have heard that women in prison are often denied much in the way of pain relief. Given that most women want their epidurals, I think it's really offensive to compare the practices.
No way is being restrained against your will while potentially in severe pain at all comparable to choosing a method of pain relief that happens to limit your mobility. That's way off base and incredibly offensive.
@erica Wow, not intending to be offensive. Having had an epidural myself, I am merely contrasting how it is socially acceptable to confine a woman via drugs, monitoring, etc but the thought of actual metal restraints for a woman is obviously wrong. I in no way endorse shackling a woman in labor whether it is metal, drug induced or otherwise unless that woman chooses to be so.
@Jenn We obviously are batting for the same team here, no need to jump to conclusions on someone you don't even know. Here are my comments from the Facebook post. Hope they are more clear. "I propose this isn't that much different then how the majority of laboring women are delivering their babies in hospitals across America. Many hospitals limit or strongly discourage women in movement, forcing them to the confines of their bed or hindering their movement with overzealous monitoring." I was one of those woman, was I literally being shackled by metal-no, but that doesn't mean it still wasn't damaging. It's like saying to someone that was molested-well, at least you weren't raped. It's heinous and completely unacceptable either way!
@erica @Jenn Please also don't assume that every woman that gets an epidural actually wants one. Often women are talked into it or cajoled into it by healthcare providers or are given little option but to get one. Healthcare providers are not teaching or showing women how to labor to avoid them. It's far more convenient for the hospital for women to be drugged up and stuck with monitors and on their backs in bed. They are in control then. Please read my birth story if you have a chance. http://wp.me/Z6Hl
Thanks for sharing, embaybee, this is really interesting. And I find myself oddly conflicted. On the one hand, I think that shackling pregnant women is a barbaric practice that should be stopped, and on the other hand, I just feel like "to what end?" Frankly I am a lot more interested in hearing the voices of the women for whom this is a reality than seeing a performance of shackled birth in a woman of privilege who can opt out at any moment. Is this supposed to be in solidarity? To expose how inhumane the practice is? Because if it's the latter, even if she is chained to a bed, there is a world of difference between her experience and that of incarcerated women... does she plan to be induced because of prison protocol? to have people ignoring her requests for pain management or screaming at her about how worthless she is? will she give birth on a locked ward with police in the room? I commend her commitment to the cause, and willingness to put her own body on the line, and yet in some ways I feel this teeters close to making it 'about' her. Maybe hearing more from the filmmaker would change my mind.
What if medical staff do not want to be around a murderer that has access to sharp objects/needles in the ER? Maybe other restraints are necessary for convicted violent offenders to ensure that the staff and baby are not harmed at this vulnerable moment?
Kinsey: There is a distinct difference, however, between being able to *choose* pain relief (be it an epidural or something else) and having it forced upon you - or withheld from you despite your wishes.
Courtroom Mama: I think you hit the nail on the head with your questions. This really just feels like all too much theatre to me. I mean, if nothing else, she's *choosing* to be shackled, which is not at all the situation (not to mention the other examples you give). I imagine her heart is in the right place, I just don't see how this will benefit much.
Shane: I do, personally, think that medical staff have the right to make sure that they are not in danger when dealing with patients, absolutely. They should not be forced to put themselves in physical danger. However, the majority of these cases are not violent offenders and therefore your question does not apply (and they all, as prisoners, would have armed guards with them, able to temporarily restrain them should they unexpectedly become violent). I do actually think that restraints may actually have a place, but they should not be the first check on a list regarding laboring prisoners. Women who actually put others in danger may end up facing the situation where they must be restrained in labor; while that does bother me to think of that happening, I can absolutely understand the need for restraints if a woman is an active threat. However, someone who is not an active threat? Yeah, no. They all have armed guards, and the guards should carry restraints to be prepared. If the woman becomes a threat, she can be restrained (I imagine medicating as sometimes happens with violent patients is not as easy in this situation). There are also safety precautions that the medical staff can take, such as making sure that the room is suitable for a potentially violent patient. While not all prisoners have mental health issues, there is a significant cross-over, and hospitals should be well-prepared to deal with laboring women with mental health issues - especially if they are expecting them, yes?
Good points, as usual, C M.
@ Kinsey
I don't have to know someone personally to be able to see when they are making offensive statements. Having a mean nurse and choosing to have an epidural (even if you were coerced) is in NO WAY comparable to being a prisoner forced to be shackled in labor. You go ahead and walk up to a woman who was imprisoned, pregnant, and then labored in handcuffs and tell her that you know just how she feels because you had an epidural and also couldn't move. Saying that it's "not much different" it's "nothing more than being shackled in a socially acceptable way" is just...wow. Talk about privilege.
Not okay.
@Jenn
I'm not interested in arguing degrees of wrongness. It's wrong to shackle women in labor. It's wrong to not offer them pain relief if they want it. It's wrong to force or withhold medical interventions on any woman. I would NEVER walk up to a prisoned laboring woman and assume I knew anything about what she had just experienced. The ONLY thing I would assume (and wrongly) is that they would hopefully get the same medical treatment as the general population. Please don't make assumptions about me based off of a handful of sentences; I'm not making them about you. If you aren't interested in having a dialogue about it, that is fine, if you'd rather blast me, than this will be my last comment on the topic. This is about having a dialogue; this is my experience, this is your experience, this is someone else's experience...
@ANaturalAdvocate
Yes, I completely agree.
Thanks for posting this. I used to work as a hospital-employed doula and we occasionally had incarcerated women who delivered in shackles. I'll never forget the client I had in this situation. She was a homeless woman with a history of mental illness and drug addiction, who had been working as a prostitute. Arrested at 37 weeks pregnant, she soon realized that she was no longer feeling her baby move. Unfortunately, her baby had passed in utero. She was brought to our hospital and had her labor induced. She was not a violent offender and was very kind, although she clearly had a lot of problems. Despite the fact that she had two armed guards with her, she was still shackled to her bed. I'll always remember this woman chained to her bed, crying over the stillborn baby she was about to deliver. Thankfully one of her guards showed some compassion and removed her shackles once she was in active labor.
The absurdity of the situation was rendered clear when, halfway through her induction, the guards got a call saying she was being released from custody. It turned out that this woman had been arrested on a bench warrant. Suddenly a woman who had supposedly posed enough of a threat to require two guards and leg and arm shackles was left alone with her nurse and me, no longer a threat at all. She delivered a beautiful full-term baby boy and was able to hold him and mourn him like any other woman, without being chained--a positive note in an otherwise heartbreaking day.
@Becca Heartbreaking story! Thanks for sharing!
emjaybee, I believe the American Nurses Association also passed a resolution/position statement opposing the practice of shackling women in labor in the last 5 years. it's probably somewhere on their (extremely un-user-friendly) website.
Among this community autonomy is seen as very important when giving birth. There is also a perception and arguement that women have no autonomy when giving birth. Incarceration is taking away someone's autonomy for a period of time. How do you take away someone's autonomy in a situation when no one has autonomy? Shackles? Does taking away the shackles make taking away prisoner's autonomy in other ways in birth okay? Autonomous birth is not the norm for the most part so how do you even decide what incarcerated birth is?
Loss of autonomy in a high-stress, life or death situation has the potential to be traumatic under any circumstances. I find it odd that one poster said there was no comparison. Saying that coercion is more acceptable than physical restraint really has me baffled. It's like saying, 'We shouldn't shackle prisoners because you can't run in labor, but if you were being coerced in labor, you should have ran.'
I agree with the other posters that this is more performance, but isn't all birth? I too would find it more interesting though for someone to record incarcerated women's birth stories.
You guys are all so stupid. Seriously. They are criminals, they broke the law while pregnant (they didn't get that way in jail). They choose to do something illegal while carrying a precious baby and the baby should be taken away and they should be tied down. They are criminals! You do the crime, you do the time. You knew you were going to have a baby so maybe next time don't do anything illegal and you won't have to be shackled to a bed. Hmmmmm there is an idea!
I don't think it's offensive at all to compare the two (shackles vs. an epidural). What's offensive, in some way, is how hospitals basically force women into wanting an epi because they won't allow - or greatly discourage them - from coping with the pain in a non-drug form.
Dot, there are people who agree with you - about women laboring in general, not just inmates. That kind of "you were the one who opened your legs, you deserve the pain!" misogynist thinking that many (Obs, nurses, etc) have towards any laboring woman is just pathetic. Please, take your hate elsewhere. I'm sure these women realize what they did was wrong, and perhaps some of them were incarcerated before they ever knew they were pregnant. Can they not, if only just for a few hours, be treated as human beings, with the ability to cope with pain and nurture their newborns before they are taken away?
And don't forget about "Innocent until proven guilty" not all inmates have been convicted. Some are awaiting their trial and either unable to post bail or weren't permitted bail.
Oh and then there is "Cruel and unusual punishment" which could involve denying women the ability to move as their body desires during a natural physical experience. They aren't handcuffed when they go to the bathroom, certainly. Inmates receiving dialysis or chemotherapy aren't shackled, so why is it so important to shackle a woman in labor? The deranged housewife has it right- to shame them an punish them for being women, being sensual beings and capable of reproduction.