Murray, Democrats Introduce New Legislation to Stop Trump Administration from Detaining and Shackling Pregnant Women

Statement

Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and 21 cosponsors, introduced the Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act, legislation to protect the health and safety of pregnant women and youth in immigration detention by reinstituting the presumption of release of pregnant women and youth, prohibiting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from shackling pregnant women in its custody, and setting new standards of care and transparency for the treatment of pregnant women and youth. Senator Murray's legislation comes in light of recent reports of mistreatment of pregnant women in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.

In March the Trump Administration publically announced it was ending an Obama-era policy that presumed the release of pregnant women and youth from ICE custody. The Administration had secretly ended the policy last year, and has since detained more than 500 pregnant women.

"It is absolutely unacceptable that in our country pregnant women are being detained, shackled, and denied the care they need to have a healthy pregnancy," said Senator Murray. "The Trump Administration should immediately reverse course on this heartless and dangerous policy that puts the health of mothers and infants at risk. I'm proud to introduce legislation to make them do just that by reinstating the former policy that presumes the release of pregnant women and youth and setting new standards of medical care and transparency around how our government treats pregnant women and youths in detention."

The legislation is cosponsored by Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA), Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

The Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act, has been endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Women's Refugee Commission, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, NARAL Pro-Choice America, The Center for Reproductive Rights, National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, Human Rights Watch, Guttmacher Institute, Church World Service, MomsRising, Amnesty International, Anti-Defamation League, March of Dimes, and National Council of Jewish Women, Inc.

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