Can they send a pregnant woman to jail in the US?

Yes and they do everyday - some even deliver in jail or prison and the baby is handed over the the state to be in it's custody. I have heard of times where the baby is adopted out or given to the biological father if he wants it.

If pregnant women can commit crimes they also get to do the time.

I think so. I think I remember seeing a documentary about a woman who was pregnant in prison. She had her baby and the baby was put into foster care :(

Thats been a few years ago, so maybe the law has changed...

Yes, they can, and do.

Yup. That's not a loophole. The woman would be medically supervised in prison and her child would be remanded to relatives or foster care until her release.

Interesting question. You would be imprisoning an innocent person (the unborn child).

They can and they do. Every single day. Being preggers doesn't mean squat to the legal system and unfortunately for them (the women), it shouldn't.

Yes,One of us knew a woman that while serving in the military was sent for 6 months to the Army's minimum security prison in Fort. Mead Md. (Just for smoking pot )

Yeah yo...

Yup, it happens all the time.

yes they can.I know in NYS there are a few facilities that house pregnant females.They are allowed to give birth.Under certain criteria some females are able to keep their babies for up to 1 yr with them then they have to make arrangements for someone to come & get the baby.The ones who do not meet the criteria have to make arrangements prior to giving birth.Whether it be family members,the father,friends,adoption agency,foster care.The 2 facilities I know of are Bedford Correctional Facility & the other is Taconic Correctional Facility.

Not only that but you can get pregnant while in prison too.

yes... It's kinda like pregnant girl-school...


Only you have the baby and they either take it away from you if you are in a facility that doesn't have care for them, or they go to either foster care of family members until the mother is released.


SOmetimes if they are lucky they are sent to the kind of facility that allows the mother to raise the child recieving parenting and life skills in prison.

Oh, yes! One thing about Americans, as much as they like to 'help' others (even if they have to do it by bombing them all the way to hell), they surely have no compassion

of course! just because a woman is pregnant doesn't mean she has a free pass to break all the laws without penalty!

yup and when they have their baby , they dont get get to hold it ! It goes straight to foster care

youbetcha

Is this a joke question or do you really believe pregnant women are exempt from laws?

Yep and sometimes they do.

Certainly! Just because they are pregnant doesn't mean they are good law abiding citizens.

Yes they sure can. They sent my daughter and she is due to have her baby in 1 month! My daughter was put in prison due to being scarred and saying the wromg thing to a police officer and made her look and become "GUILTY"!! They said she injured another child but she had witnesses that she didnt! The police doesnt care, they only care to get a person convicted and it doesnt matter if it's the right person or not! It should of been the mothers boyfriend that went to prison!!! This state is very unfair!!

Yes, many Women's prisons have a maternity ward.

Yes, my daughter is 3 months pregnant and has been in jail since December 30, 2008. Her court date is 1-26-09.

Yes, they do it all the time. More than a few kids have been born in prison.

yes they sure can and do. many women give birth whilst in prison and jail. some have programs where the kids can stay there so they can interact..but alot are taken from the moms right after birth

1) "Christy Hall, co-founder and Development Coordinator for The Birth Attendants - a non-profit organization that runs The Prison Doula Project, providing incarcerated women in the Washington Correction Center for Women (WCCW) with desperately needed pregnancy, labor and post-partum doula services. Christy's stories of the incarcerated women for whom The Birth Attendants provide these services are depressing, inspiring and unendingly educational. Where pregnancy is a time to share excitement, anxiety, information and hopes for the future for many women, for imprisoned women it is most often isolating and terrifying with a disturbing lack of resources and information.

Christy, a 27 year-old mother of a now 11-month old daughter, helped found The Birth Attendants in December 2002 when a friend of hers, Joanna - then a student at Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA - was doing a report for a class. Joanna called a local prison to inquire about what services the prison provided for pregnant prisoners. It just so happened that the woman on the other end of the phone had recently given birth with the help of a doula who had made it a "wonderful, empowering experience" and asked if Joanna would act as a doula at the prison for some of the female prisoners. Immediately, Joanna put a call out to her community and The Birth Attendants was born."
Source and further information:
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2007/08/02/pregnant-behind-bars-the-prison-doula-project


2) "This is an exploratory study of depression in pregnant women incarcerated in a state prison in California. It was hypothesized that the inmates would experience higher levels of postpartum depression than would nonincarcerated women who have recently given birth. Participants were 120 inmates who recently gave birth while incarcerated. They were interviewed and given the Beck Depression Inventory. It was found that none of the participants were clinically depressed."
Source and further information:
http://jcx.sagepub.com/cgi/content/short/12/2/78


3) " Felicia Williams admitted she killed her two children, and by the time she entered the state prison system, she was pregnant again, joining dozens of other expectant mothers behind bars.

Roughly 150 pregnant women are sentenced to serve time at a state prison or detention center every year, according to state statistics. There currently are about 45 pregnant women in prison, all housed at Atlanta's Metro State Prison."
Source and further information:
http://onlineathens.com/stories/043007/news_20070430014.shtml


4) "I think we're heading toward in regards to poor people and their reproductive rights is a national law that whenever a poor woman gets pregnant she gets instantly put into prison. That way the state can make sure that she doesn't get an abortion, that she eats and drinks responsibly, and that she gets proper prenatal care – since we know that prisons are just incredibly luxurious these days – it's purely coincidental that the rate of AIDS deaths in prison, especially among women, is exponentially higher than the national average. The great thing about this plan is that poor kids would be born in jail. No need to go out and arrest them!"
Source and further information:
http://www.mejeffdorchen.oblivio.com/moments/moment_hershey.html


5) Further information:
- "Pregnant and in prison"
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2007/jan/18/20070118-110939-8220r/
- “ When a Pregnant Woman Goes to Prison ”
http://www.knightsindirtyarmour.com/PregnantInPrison.html
- "a vietnamese woman convicted of dealing heroin and ecstasy has become pregnant while being held on death row"
http://publiccriminology.blogspot.com/2007/11/pregnant-in-prison.html
- "Baby killer gets pregnant in prison"
http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-176186.html

That is done all the time. The legal system doesn't consider pregnancy when passing sentence or putting a woman in jail.
If you do the crime, you do the time. The baby gets to live with caring foster parents.

How can women be send to prisons in the first place???
What a sick/men world
All women in prisons got outsmart by some asshole bf, or it was self-defence
when will human rights include women

Share your answer...

How can women be send to prison in the first place???

it is a sick/men world!!

Yes. The only time being preggo should matter in jail is if you have a death sentence. In that case, the baby needs to be born before, obviously. Just because the woman is serving time in jail doesn't mean that they will refrain from giving her the care needed for the baby.

you are the dumbest mother trucker i have ever seen. get pregnant and go to jail. you stupid man-wh0r3

Yes i beleive so. At Rikers Island in Ny women are allowed to give birth in prison and have their babies with them in prison until 8 months old then their baby usually goes and lives with a family member. until the prisoner is released

I do believe they try other options first.
I know alot of them go to halfway houses, or housing just for pregnant women.
Jail though is usually a place people go while waiting on getting sent somewhere else, getting bailed out...or going to court. I think thy send them to jail, but after their sentance instead of prison...yeah, its usually a womans halfway house for other pregnant women...in most cases.
http://cdf.childrensdefense.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=9221.0

hell yes

they sure can and they sure do.

Yes they do, they just had a program on A&E pregnant women in prison

Pregnant women in NYS are thrown in prison everyday.Prison don't discriminate.PPL of all ages/colors/ethnic backgrounds/mentally challenged/disabled/blind/deaf/missing limbs,etc are among 1 another.What happens with a pregnant woman is she is NOT kept in population with everybody else.They are housed seperately.There are 2 female facilities in NYS that have options for the mother.Oh yes she does deliver while incarcerated while shackled to the bed as if she is gonna run off in the middle of delivery and disappear while under police watch! Depending on the circumstances the mom can keep her baby with her for up to 1 yr while in prison.She bonds with the baby,continues her programming,and gets parenting skills,etc.She has the option to have her loved ones get the baby OR she can put it up for adoption.The state dont just come walking in and take it.There is a great program in Taconic Correctional Facility.I was an inmate/I worked in the children center/living area.I was soooooooooooo amazed.The females and babies are housed apart from population.Its all fenced in.They have their own yard/playground.They have their own sleeping area (own room)everything is already there for the babies.cribs/strollers/car seats/walkers/toys/new clothes/bottles,formula,food,their own kitchen,their nursery is like amazing.rocking chairs,all wooden cribs,chairs,radio,tv,learning toys,etc.You would never know you were actually within a prison compound.And while females are pregnant they are given good real food,not soy as the rest of them.

Of course.

Why wouldn't they?

If they didn't, it would be a great way for a woman to avoid or at least delay jail time.

Yes they certainly can and do frequently.

Being pregnant is no defense in a crime.

My sister is eight months pregnant and in jail. She is completely innocent. Her now ex boyfriend, the father of the child, had stolen items from people around the town. She wanted nothing to do with him afterwards she was devastated. Recently he came into her current residence, her ex' aunt had let her stay there, and she had not called the cops. Being hugely pregnant she could not get to the phone to call the police. The cops got there somehow soon after and arrested them both. She has been in jail for days and her hearing was today. Her mattress only inches thick, she has not been able to sleep and stressed to the highest level. Obviously not good for the unborn child. The policemen and judge seemed to take the whole case as a joke. She is now serving time until only a few days before the baby's due date. I see that as abuse really. An unborn child and an innocent woman, both practically having there lives at risk. Tell me, how is that legal?