43 states allow women to be shackled while they give birth in prison. Washington recently became the seventh state in the United States to recognize this violation of basic human rights. Please support Oregon following suit.

The following is information that supported the successful Washington petition: "Shackling women prisoners while they give birth is an obvious violation of human rights. Beyond that, it simply doesn’t make logical sense. Women in labor are certainly not a flight risk, and usually they pose little danger to people around them. In extreme situations with violent prisoners, alternative security precautions (an extra guard at the door?) can be taken to avoid shackling.

Finally, Washington has become the seventh state in the U.S. to recognize that, banning shackling of female prisoners while they give birth. For too long, policies against such protocol have been ignored in Washington prisons, and the state's jails and juveniles facilities have lacked any direction on the issue. Last week, though, Gov. Christine Gregoire signed a law fully banning the practice.

Not surprisingly, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Medical Association are strongly against shackling women during labor, which the OB-GYN group says interferes with medical care and puts "the health and lives of the women and unborn children at risk." No kidding.

Recently, we've written here about New York becoming the sixth state to ban shackling of pregnant prisoners, and the Eighth Circuit's landmark decision on the issue in October. (In a 6-5 decision last year, the conservative federal court ruled that shackling a woman during labor was a violation of the Eighth Amendment and allowed an Arksansas prisoner’s civil claim against a guard and the state prison system.)

This is a big step for Washington, but 43 states now have to catch up. It's time for states to admit that shackling pregnant prisoners is a major mistake."