By Aurora Brice
Their names: Sandra Quinones. Lanekia Michelle Brown. Tammy Jackson. Three incarcerated pregnant women who died, or whose fetus or infant died, due to inadequate medical treatment in the U.S. prison system. In three county jail systems across the U.S., each of them cried out for emergency medical assistance. Here’s what happened.
In 2016, Sandra Quinones, age 28, was housed at an Orange County jail serving almost 70 days for possession of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance for sale, which is considered a parole violation. She was six months pregnant when her water broke in her cell. Ms. Quinones pressed the emergency assistance button and deputies waited two hours before responding. Rather than calling an ambulance, deputies drove her to the hospital and recorded the incident as a non-emergency. On the way to the hospital, they stopped at Starbucks while Quinones bled in the back of the car. The baby did not survive. Although Quinones was awarded a settlement of $480,000 for denied medical treatment, negligence, and other violations, another case resulting in a fatality occurred only two years later.
In 2018, Lanekia Michelle Brown, age 37, was awaiting trial at the Madison County Detention Center in Mississippi for charges of marijuana trafficking. Ms. Brown was 3-4 weeks pregnant and had complained of stomach pains. When she finally received medical attention, it was too late. The nurse conducted CPR on Brown but she was unresponsive and declared dead. Brown’s family stated that she had no history of medical problems. A third fatality occurred less than a year later.
In 2019, Tammy Jackson, age 34, was incarcerated in Broward County jail in Florida. Jackson suffered from bipolar schizophrenia and had been arrested for trespassing and drug charges. She went into labor in an isolated cell and was screaming in pain, when a deputy who saw her in distress refused to call for medical assistance. Jackson underwent 7 hours of labor without doctors or medication. She gave birth to a baby girl who hit the prison floor. Even after Jackson gave birth, the deputy waited hours before having Jackson transported to the hospital for medical treatment. After Jackson’s release, she lobbied for better medical treatment for incarcerated pregnant women. In 2020, the Tammy Jackson Act was signed into law, requiring pregnant inmates be transported to a local hospital when undergoing labor. Despite her efforts, Jackson died 18 months after her release and few details can be found about the cause of death.
I struggle to understand how a prison guard can stand by and listen to a woman wail from labor pains or hear a newborn baby cry and fail to act in a timely manner by calling for medical assistance.
Incarcerated pregnant women are more likely than those in the general population to experience miscarriages and preterm births, and to give birth to infants who are small for their gestational age. Only 37% of prisons conduct pregnancy tests upon entry, and a majority of states have yet to enact healthcare policies for incarcerated pregnant women or implement standards for prenatal nutrition.
As an advocate for criminal justice reform, I am appalled that a country with such rich medical resources continues to ignore its most vulnerable populations. Incarcerated people are entitled to healthcare. What’s more, local, state, and federal governments are obligated to provide it.
The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.
Fyodor Dostoevsky
The U.S. prison system is violating the 8th Amendment Rights of incarcerated pregnant women by failing to provide recommended daily nutrition, screening, and treatment for high-risk pregnancies.
We must implement universal health and safety guidelines to reduce maternal and infant deaths.
I recommend that all prisons housing women be mandated to implement maternity care units equipped with a doctor and nurse. To be sure, some taxpayers feel we are doing enough for incarcerated people by providing three meals a day and shelter for their poor decisions. Others believe these mothers should have made better decisions to avoid being incarcerated while pregnant. But their unborn children cannot be held responsible for the wrongful actions of their mothers or fathers.
A prison sentence should not and cannot warrant cruel and unusual punishment in these cases.
It’s time to restore humanity behind bars.
Aurora Brice is a Brooklyn, NY native with over 14 years of government experience. She currently works in the district attorney’s office and is pursuing a Master’s in Public Administration, Non-Profit Management, and Public Policy at the NYU Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service. Ms. Brice has extensive experience getting institutions to participate in organized urban renewal efforts and she plans to create a non-profit to assist at-risk youth.
