Finding the Medium to Fit the Means: Birth Shackling
Birth Shackling refers to the act of handcuffing, shackling, or restraining pregnant women before birth, during birth, and postpartum. Currently, there are only 22 States in The US with legislation banning some form of this practice. Even in those states with legislations against birth shackling, some form of the practice still occurs. The practice can have both physical and psychological effects on mother and child.¹
For my final project, I’ve chosen to focus on this issue, what it is, why it happens, and how to end it. The thing that is the most interesting about this issue is that it is not an issue that demands funds as a solution. It is an issue that demands action and legislation. This issue needs groups of people working together to create legislation that, in no uncertain terms, defines what is and is not appropriate for pregnant incarcerated women to experience throughout their pregnancy up until after the birth of their child.
The biggest thing in the way of this call to action and rallying of the masses at the moment is education. People do not know that this is a problem that exists. In states where there are laws against birth shackling, people do not understand that there are loopholes to them or that they are being ignored entirely. In the states with laws against birth shackling, many of the officers, transporters, and other medical professionals working with these pregnant incarcerated women do not know what the laws demand and what their full extent is.² In the states without these laws, many of these same professionals are not aware of why it is an issue and why there should be legislature preventing these types of practices.
The American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology have clearly stated their opposition to the practice, stating that it can endanger both mother and child, interferes with the ability of physicians to safely practice medicine, and is “demeaning and unnecessary.”³ There are these misconceptions that if a pregnant woman is not restrained, she could try to run away or she could hurt someone. However, there is not evidence to support either of these claims. It is unlikely that even if she wanted to, a woman in labor would be able to run away and escape. There is also no reason to believe that a pregnant incarcerated woman is or will be violent towards her doctors just because she is an inmate. The only reason that these women are restrained at all is because this is the protocol for bringing male inmates to doctors or hospitals outside of the prison facilities.
The roots of this problem lead to the root of the majority of the problems with the American Prison System, nothing has been changed in a very long time. There is not a flow of creation of new policies. While women are very different from men, the system in place has not been created to treat them differently than men. The general policy of the American Prison system is “one size fits all, if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.”
It is my job not only as a student, but as an artist to figure out how to get this information out to the public in a way that is not only clear, but that will plant the seeds that ignite a movement for change. The interactive trifold I’m creating has a center section with cut-out paper shackles and velcro on their backs. On each shackle is written a justification or misconception on birth shackling. Once each shackle is removed, the truth is revealed, the misconception is dispelled, and something is learned. The idea is that the truth will set these women free. By learning the truth, shackles are literally being removed by the project, and hopefully the same will be done throughout The U.S. soon.
There is also an element of my project that shares stories of women who were incarcerated and pregnant, and their experiences with shackling and restraints. I got an overwhelmingly positive response from my group mates about that aspect of the project. It was then that I realized that that is what the project, is about. The project is about the people. My job as a writer and artist is to figure out how to bring the people to the audience with my art. It is my job to continue the work I’ve learned about in the classroom outside of the classroom. What if instead of my cutout silhouettes with the stories of different women, I created a monologue series about these women. A series based off their experiences, encapsulated into a show, with women telling these stories aloud not just so these stories exist, but so they are truly heard.
This process for me has been about finding the right marriage of education and my artistry; the foundations of what this project is intended to be and what creative community engagement is all about. It doesn’t take a lot of money, it doesn’t take a lot of resources, it just demands attention to the issues and the work created. If those two things are done correctly, the rest takes care of itself.
- Josh Harkinson, Mother Jones <https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/08/its-2017-and-most-states-still-allow-shackling-of-prisoners-during-labor-and-delivery/>
- Andrea Hsu, NPR <https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128563037>
- Ginette Gosselin Ferzt, PhD, RN, American Journal of Nursing <https://journals.lww.com/ajnonline/Fulltext/2010/02000/Giving_Birth_in_Shackles.2.aspx>
