Thanks to HB 1307, Pregnant Persons Will Receive Care
Jun 21st, 2021
A woman is suing Collin County after she says she was denied the right to see a doctor while she was pregnant in jail, says Fox News.
The lawsuit alleges that she later suffered a miscarriage after enduring an undiagnosed urinary tract infection.
The lawsuit alleges that Collin County incentivizes its third-party medical provider for the jail to cut costs. It alleges that is what led to an inmate being denied the right to proper prenatal care, which, in turn, resulted in the death of her baby.
Lauren Kent says her cries for help for her unborn baby were ignored for 36 days while in the Collin County jail.
“I begged them for help on more than one occasion,” she said.
How many of us Texans know someone who was pregnant while in jail–often finding out they were pregnant after being jailed–and then lost the baby? Most of the time, that mother-to-be wasn’t receiving good ob-gyn care, good nutrition and good support. Then after their miscarriage, they were tossed back in the cell without any medical or mental health care. That’s why Texas Jail Project supported HB 1307, a bill REQUIRING that jails provide counseling and care for those jailed while pregnant, who then miscarried or were assaulted while confined there.
And the governor signed HB 1307, authored by Rep. Mary González, into law this month!! Small steps, folks. But they they make a difference for people in those cells.
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