New Federal Bill Aims to Protect Incarcerated Pregnant Women

This article was published in partnership with NBC News.

A California congresswoman is proposing sweeping changes to the treatment of incarcerated pregnant women in a bill introduced Thursday, part of a growing effort to correct systemic failures that put mothers’ and babies’ lives at risk in lockups around the country.

The bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a Democrat, would mandate stronger protections for pregnant women and require tracking of pregnancies behind bars. The bill, an updated version of a measure she introduced in 2023, was motivated in part by an investigation last year by Bloomberg Law and NBC News that found mistreatment of pregnant women in jails.

“It’s incredibly important that we are demanding and expanding data collection, because abuses that are happening to pregnant women in detention facilities are going unreported or underreported and don’t see daylight,” Kamlager-Dove said.

The Bloomberg Law/NBC News investigation told the stories of 54 women who alleged severe harm or medical neglect during their pregnancies in local jails from 2017 to 2024. An analysis of those cases revealed a pattern among women arrested for low-level charges, who said they were not given proper care in jail and had their cries for help ignored. In many instances, women had miscarriages or stillbirths, or gave birth in dirty cells. Two women died, and six women delivered babies who were born alive but died within days. Many of the babies who survived suffered infections or long-term health problems, their mothers said.

The tally is almost certainly an undercount; there is no comprehensive data on pregnancies in jail, and the 54 cases in the Bloomberg Law/NBC News investigation included only women or their families who had filed federal civil rights lawsuits. About half the lawsuits were settled, with payouts ranging from $200,000 into the millions; others were dismissed.

The best way to protect pregnant women, many women’s health advocates say, is to send fewer of them to jail and improve the care for those who end up there.

But solving the problem is difficult when no one fully knows where it’s happening.

Kamlager-Dove’s bill, called the Pregnant Women in Custody Act, would require the federal government to collect data on pregnancies — how many, the treatment, the outcomes — not only in local jails, but also in federal and state lockups, including immigration detention facilities.

“We need the data, and to share and talk about these women, because often they are invisible,” Kamlager-Dove said.

Her bill also would direct the National Institute of Corrections to provide education and technical assistance to state and local correctional facilities to train staff on the dangers of putting pregnant women in restrictive housing and restraints. And it would require a study of policies covering the care of pregnant women in those facilities.

The bill would also require a basic level of care for pregnant women in federal custody, including diet; vitamins; bedding; clothing; support services; screening and treatment for dangerous risk factors; and plans to deal with serious complications. The bill would bar, in most cases, federal agencies from putting pregnant women in restrictive housing or restraints.

Kamlager-Dove said she proposed requirements for the Department of Homeland Security in the new version of her bill after women alleged they were mistreated and neglected in immigration detention centers while they were pregnant. DHS has denied the allegations.

The bill, which now will be referred to House committees, does not yet have any Republican co-sponsors, imperative for the bill to build enough support to become law. Kamlager-Dove said she has asked members of the majority party to sign on.

The Bloomberg Law/NBC News investigation has also been cited by state lawmakers trying to prevent at-risk women from spending their pregnancies in custody.

In Pennsylvania, the investigation prompted the introduction of the Pregnancy and Pretrial Justice Act, which would restrict cash bail for any pregnant pretrial detainee who is not facing a capital offense or life in prison.

The bill’s author, state Sen. Amanda Cappelletti, a Democrat, said it would ensure that pregnant women are not held in jail without healthcare because they cannot afford bail.

“Recent reporting makes clear how urgently this reform is needed,” Cappelletti told fellow lawmakers earlier this year when introducing the bill. “We know that even short periods in jail can jeopardize maternal and fetal health. No incarcerated person should be denied basic healthcare while pregnant.”

Lauren Kent, who miscarried in jail after pleading for help, is now sober and the proud mother of two sons. She said a new bill proposing changes to the treatment of incarcerated pregnant women is a “great start.”

Photographer: Annie Flanagan/Bloomberg Law and NBC News

Lawmakers in other states have moved to raise awareness and improve conditions for pregnant women in jail. In Virginia, laws enacted last month make it easier for pregnant women to be released on home electronic monitoring, require standards on lactation policies and require reporting of pregnancies. Later this year, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is expected to release its first report on maternal health, pregnancy complications and mortality rates in jails.

Kamlager-Dove said she hoped her federal bill would move more state lawmakers to seek protections for incarcerated pregnant women. “This is an opportunity for local elected officials to raise their hands and say, ‘Me too,’” Kamlager-Dove said.

Lauren Kent, who miscarried into a jail cell toilet in Texas in 2019 after begging for help for days, said Kamlager-Dove’s bill was “a great start” and could bring more attention to jails’ failure to keep mothers and babies safe.

Kent, who was featured in the Bloomberg Law/NBC News investigation, said she found it healing to share her story publicly, and to know that change may come as a result.

“It helps me to feel like my son’s life wasn’t for nothing,” Kent said.