REPRODUCTIVE LOCKDOWN: An Examination of Montana Detention Centers and the Treatment of Pregnant Prisoners

In 2012, 27-year-old Angela Robinson was forced to deliver her baby girl on the dirty booking room floor of the Yellowstone County Detention Facility after her repeated requests for medical help over the course of several hours went ignored.

In 2008, another prisoner made it to the hospital to deliver her baby, but was humiliated and put in harm’s way because detention officers insisted on keeping her in shackles throughout her labor and delivery against the advice of medical staff.

These incidents are just two of several stories that prompted the ACLU of Montana’s newly issued report, “Reproductive Lockdown: An Examination of Montana Detention Centers and the Treatment of Pregnant Prisoners.”