California must stop law that would allow pregnant women to be placed in solitary confinement – ​​Pasadena Star News

In this 2019 file photo, an inmate looks out a window of his solitary confinement cell at the main prison in San Jose, California, on Dec. 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, Archive)

California is often hailed as a leader among states on progressive issues, particularly women's rights. Yet California is now on the verge of passing a law that would make it easier to place pregnant women in solitary confinement. As someone who has experienced the dehumanizing and degrading effects of being placed in solitary confinement during pregnancy, I feel compelled to speak out and speak out.

I was arrested in the sixth month of my pregnancy and put in solitary confinement. When I was brought to court, my arms were handcuffed to my waist, even though I was pregnant. When I gave birth, I was handcuffed to the hospital bed and treated as if I were less than human. Childbirth can be one of the most beautiful and sacred experiences a person can have, but for me it became a dark and degrading experience because of the way I was treated.

All over the world, in all countries and cultures, pregnant women are seen as a symbol of life and are cared for, welcomed, honored and respected. Yet in Californian prisons and detention centers, their confinement in solitary confinement is somehow considered acceptable. There is no law in California prohibiting the confinement of pregnant women in solitary confinement, a practice that is considered torture in most enlightened countries.

Perhaps most shocking is the realisation that attempts to legislate for the protection of pregnant women have not only been undermined, but the ban on placing pregnant women in solitary confinement has been replaced by a law allowing them to be placed in solitary confinement for up to five days without medical or external supervision.

I am referring to AB 2527, a bill by Asm. Bauer-Kahan that originally proposed a blanket ban on solitary confinement for pregnant women in prisons and jails. Asm. Bauer-Kahan was quoted as saying of the bill, “In order to be pregnant and stay healthy, I strongly believe that cramped quarters should not be part of the equation.”

Just days later, Bauer-Kahan accepted amendments from corrections officials that made major changes to the bill, including eliminating solitary confinement for pregnant women in prisons and jails and giving the CDCR the authority to place pregnant women in solitary confinement for up to five days, depending on safety concerns.

To be clear, the legislature proposes solitary confinement when a pregnant woman and unborn child pose a safety risk. It does not provide a safe alternative to solitary confinement, such as a trauma-informed unit that can house a pregnant woman alone but provides them with guaranteed time out of the cell and access to medical care and programs. Instead, the bill puts all the power in the hands of the CDCR without even requiring the development of a medical plan or a cumulative limit on the number of five-day isolation periods in a given period.

The law also completely removed protections for pregnant women in county jails, so it didn't apply to me. Based on the information available, AB 2527's supposed “protections” would instead apply to seven people across the entire state of California.