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Committee hears bill to ban shackling of pregnant inmates during labor and delivery
Summary
HB 475 would prohibit restraints on inmates known to be pregnant during labor and delivery except in narrowly defined cases (flight risk or imminent harm) and requires removal when risk has been mitigated. Medical and civil‑rights witnesses urged passage citing health and human‑rights harms; supporters noted federal precedent in the First Step Act.
Representative James Reavis introduced House Bill 475 to restrict the practice of shackling pregnant inmates during labor and delivery, drawing on language from an Idaho statute and models used elsewhere (Representative James Reavis). The sponsor described personal and professional experiences, including a public defender account in which an incarcerated woman gave birth while handcuffed to a hospital bed.
Medical witnesses and professional groups provided direct testimony. Stacy Anderson of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Montana chapter said restraints compromise medical care and raise risks such as falls, impaired examination, delayed diagnosis, thrombosis and hindered response in medical emergencies. Legal and civil‑rights organizations (Legal Voice, Montana Innocence Project) and advocates for survivors of domestic and sexual violence testified that shackling is medically unnecessary, traumatic and inconsistent with national standards. A jail clinician from Missoula explained that the facility does not shackle pregnant people for visits and that practical, safety and humane reasons support the restriction.
Witnesses noted the 2018 federal First Step Act bans restraints for federal inmates during pregnancy and postpartum recovery; proponents urged Montana to align with that federal standard. The sponsor closed asking the committee to pass the bill; no opponents testified on the record during this hearing.
Quote: "The practice of restraint during childbirth compromises health care and is rarely necessary." — Stacy Anderson, ACOG Montana chapter
What happens next: the hearing closed with broad bipartisan proponent testimony; the sponsor offered to answer follow‑up questions and supply materials.
