50 signatures reached
To: The Texas Commission on Jail Standards
Newborns Shouldn’t Die in Texas Jails!
Tell the Texas Commission on Jail Standards: Take immediate action to make jails safe for pregnant women and babies!
Why is this important?
Nicole Guerrero was pregnant and alone in a Texas county jail cell when she suddenly started having contractions. According to CNN, after screaming for help over and over again and being ignored for hours, someone finally came to her assistance, but it was too late. Her baby was born on a jail cell floor, a deep shade of purple, with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. Nicole’s baby did not survive. [1] [2]
Nicole Guerrero is just one of the estimated 500 pregnant women in Texas county jails each month. [3] Reports from advocates in Texas tell us this isn’t the first time a pregnant woman in a county jail was denied access to medical care.
The following standards and best practices should be established as minimum standards by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards:
1. Implement the current standard requiring jails to have a good medical plan that insures timely and appropriate prenatal care, specialized obstetrical services when indicated, and postpartum care.
2. When a pregnant woman says that she is experiencing labor symptoms, the jail shall provide an immediate evaluation by an obstetric specialist. If there is no obstetric specialist on site, an ambulance shall be called immediately and the woman shall be transferred to an appropriate medical care facility. In the event that a woman gives birth in the correctional facility, immediately call an ambulance to transfer both the mother and baby to a hospital.
3. Prohibit the placement of pregnant women in any form of solitary confinement, including a medical segregation cell.
No mother should have to endure Nicole Guerrero’s tragic loss. If you are as horrified by this story as we are, please sign this petition today.
[1] Shelby Lin Erdman and Carma Hassan. “Texas woman claims she gave birth alone in jail, baby died.” CNN, May 24, 2014. http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/23/us/texas-jail-baby-death/
[2] Diana Claitor and Burke Butler. “Pregnant women in Texas county jails deserve better than this.” Dallas News, June 26, 2014. http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20140626-pregnant-women-in-texas-county-jails-deserve-better-than-this.ece
[3] Texas Jail Project. “Pregnant in a Texas County Jail?” January 1, 2013. http://www.texasjailproject.org/2013/01/pregnant-in-a-texas-jail/
Nicole Guerrero is just one of the estimated 500 pregnant women in Texas county jails each month. [3] Reports from advocates in Texas tell us this isn’t the first time a pregnant woman in a county jail was denied access to medical care.
The following standards and best practices should be established as minimum standards by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards:
1. Implement the current standard requiring jails to have a good medical plan that insures timely and appropriate prenatal care, specialized obstetrical services when indicated, and postpartum care.
2. When a pregnant woman says that she is experiencing labor symptoms, the jail shall provide an immediate evaluation by an obstetric specialist. If there is no obstetric specialist on site, an ambulance shall be called immediately and the woman shall be transferred to an appropriate medical care facility. In the event that a woman gives birth in the correctional facility, immediately call an ambulance to transfer both the mother and baby to a hospital.
3. Prohibit the placement of pregnant women in any form of solitary confinement, including a medical segregation cell.
No mother should have to endure Nicole Guerrero’s tragic loss. If you are as horrified by this story as we are, please sign this petition today.
[1] Shelby Lin Erdman and Carma Hassan. “Texas woman claims she gave birth alone in jail, baby died.” CNN, May 24, 2014. http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/23/us/texas-jail-baby-death/
[2] Diana Claitor and Burke Butler. “Pregnant women in Texas county jails deserve better than this.” Dallas News, June 26, 2014. http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20140626-pregnant-women-in-texas-county-jails-deserve-better-than-this.ece
[3] Texas Jail Project. “Pregnant in a Texas County Jail?” January 1, 2013. http://www.texasjailproject.org/2013/01/pregnant-in-a-texas-jail/