WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday, U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) joined her colleagues to reintroduce the Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act. The legislation would protect the health and safety of pregnant women and youth by reinstituting the presumption of release of pregnant women and youth in immigration detention, further prohibiting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from shackling pregnant women in its custody, and setting new standards of care and transparency for the treatment of pregnant women and youth.

The bill was first introduced last summer in light of reports of mistreatment of pregnant women in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, and was reintroduced on the heels of a recent Washington Post report about a women in ICE custody whose pregnancy ended in a stillbirth after she went into labor prematurely.

“Detaining pregnant women in poor conditions doesn’t make our country safer—it’s cruel and immoral,” said Harris. “I am committed to ensuring that children and pregnant mothers at the border receive proper medical care and will continue to fight for their human rights.” Read More

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