The Texas Jail Project and the ACLU of Texas are working with a coalition of advocates on two bills before the current legislature:

• HB 3653: requires all county and state facilities to LIMIT SHACKLING of women during labor and delivery;
• HB 3654: requires county jails to plan their MEDICAL CARE of pregnant women and also requires them to COUNT the number of pregnant women they are holding.

You can help by telling us what you know of health care/treatment inside the local county jail. We especially need to hear from you if you have been in jail while pregnant or have a friend/loved one in that situation. Our goal is to report to the Texas Legislature in order to improve conditions for inmates.**

**Your name will never be published or used in any way without your permission.

Please leave a message at 512-597-8746 or email us with this information:

• Which county jail were you in?
• Was the medical care you received appropriate?
• What was the outcome of your pregnancy?
• How can we contact you?

The Texas Jail Project and the ACLU have received a number of accounts of substandard treatment of pregnant inmates in jails across Texas. Both organizations have received letters and other accounts indicating a variety of problems related to pregnant inmates including: lack of sufficient food, exposure to infectious disease or chemicals, and lack of medical access. A nurse in Dallas reported an incident in which a woman was shackled during labor and delivery, and the injuries to mother and the child that resulted.

To address these problems, Texas jails need standards related to major factors in the outcome of any pregnancy, such as:

• access to medical care.
• exposure to infectious disease,
• the use of shackles during labor and delivery,
• access to prenatal vitamins, and
• proper nutrition