AB 568 has passed both the state assembly and state senate and now sits on Governor Brown's desk awaiting his signature.
This bill would require that the standards used by the Board of State and Community Corrections ensures that inmates who are pregnant not be shackled by the wrists, ankles, around the abdomen, or to another person.
If signed, AB 568 would build on current law and minimize restraints on any incarcerated pregnant woman when she is outside of the facility, including during transport and medical care.
You would think this was a done deal, having passed both the state senate and assembly unanimously but a late opposition letter from the California Sheriff’s Association requires us to take action to ensure the bill is signed into law.
Contrary to the implied position in their opposition letter, an officer uses discretion every time s/he uses force, including a restraint, which is always subject to constitutional limitations. The best protection an officer or agency can have is appropriate standards that balance the issues of safety with constitutional rights.
Training of officers is an obligation already mandated by the court in protecting inmates’ constitutional rights, therefore, AB 568 further protects the officers and the agency by detailing the policy and procedures for use of least restrictive restraints that meet constitutional obligations.
Failing to enact AB 568 will place officers and their agencies in greater danger from liability for constitutional violations. Pregnancy already destabilizes the mother’s center of gravity and obscures visualization of her feet. Restraints further increase her chance of falls, which can cause placental detachment from the uterus, possibly resulting in the death of the mother and her baby.
This is an important piece of legislation that California NOW strongly supports.
Click here to contact Governor Brown to ask him to sign AB 568 into law!
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