Supporting Legislation to End the Use of Restraints and Force on Pregnant and Postpartum Incarcerated Individuals

SUMMARY

The Sex & Law Committee (Natalie Birnbaum and Susan Cersovsky, Co-Chairs) and the Civil Rights Committee (Evan Henley, Co- Chair) issued a report supporting the enactment of A.1670-A/S.2667-B (the Act). The legislation aims to prohibit the use of restraints and unnecessary force on incarcerated individuals who are pregnant, in labor, recovering postpartum, or experiencing pregnancy-related medical conditions. The report argues that shackling and the use of force during pregnancy and childbirth create serious health and safety risks, including falls, complications during labor, delayed medical care, and long-term psychological trauma. It emphasizes that medical experts and human rights organizations widely condemn these practices because pregnant and postpartum individuals require medical care and mobility, not punitive restraints. The proposed legislation would strengthen existing anti-shackling protections by sharply limiting the circumstances in which restraints or force may be used and by expanding protections during postpartum recovery and other pregnancy outcomes.

The report also frames the issue as one of reproductive justice, racial equity, and human dignity within the correctional system. It notes that Black and Latina women are disproportionately impacted by incarceration and therefore disproportionately subjected to harmful treatment during pregnancy and childbirth. The Committees argue that correctional practices relying on restraints undermine bodily autonomy, maternal health, and infant well-being while exacerbating trauma associated with incarceration and family separation. The report concludes that stronger statutory protections and accountability measures are necessary to ensure compliance with accepted medical standards and to treat pregnant and postpartum incarcerated individuals with dignity rather than as security threats.

BILL INFORMATION

A.1670-A (AM Rosenthal) / S.2667-B (Sen. Salazar)- prohibits the use of restraints and force against incarcerated individuals during labor and after other pregnancy outcomes absent extraordinary circumstances and on pregnant persons during custodial interrogation (NYS 2025-26)

REPORT

REPORT ON LEGISLATION BY THE SEX & THE LAW
AND CIVIL RIGHTS COMMITTEES

A.1670-A (AM Rosenthal)
S.2667-B (Sen. Salazar)

AN ACT that prohibits the use of restraints and force against incarcerated individuals during labor and after other pregnancy outcomes absent extraordinary circumstances and on pregnant persons during custodial interrogation

THIS BILL IS APPROVED

I. PURPOSE

The Sex & Law Committee, Civil Rights Committee, and Children & the Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association supports the enactment of A.1670-A/S.2667-B (the Act). No pregnant individual or birthing parent in the State of New York should be subjected to the dangerous and degrading use of shackles or other unnecessary force, such as tasers or chemical agents. Shackling pregnant or postpartum people is not only an inhumane violation of basic human rights, but also ignores the warnings of major medical organizations regarding severe risks to the fetus and parent, including warnings from the American Medical Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, and the United Nations Committee Against Torture.[1]

Nevertheless, pregnant, birthing, and postpartum incarcerated New Yorkers remain vulnerable to these dangerous and inhumane practices. Despite New York’s 2009 ban on the shackling of this population in prisons and jails, and subsequent 2015 legislation to promote compliance with the ban,[2] loopholes in the law allow these practices to persist in police stations and other custodial settings. Additionally, the New York statute does not explicitly protect incarcerated pregnant, postpartum, and birthing individuals from other harmful uses of unnecessary force, including the use of chemical agents and tasers, placing them and their fetuses or newborns at unconscionable risk.

The Act, in conjunction with the New York State Compassion and Reproductive Equity (CARE) Act (A.4879-A/S.4583-A)[3] would provide more robust protections for incarcerated individuals who are pregnant, in labor or delivery, and postpartum.[4] The Act strengthens the 2009 ban on shackling pregnant individuals by extending the prohibition across all custodial settings. The Act also prohibits the use of unnecessary force against this population, including the dangerous use of chemical agents and tasers. Acknowledging that being pregnant and giving birth as an incarcerated person can be dehumanizing and psychologically traumatic,[5] the Act also better protects privacy and dignity and improves access to vital interpersonal support during pregnancy-related medical care. By aligning state law with medical consensus, fundamental human rights, and New York’s equal protection requirements, the Act helps to protect the health, safety, and reproductive autonomy of incarcerated pregnant people and their children.

II. REASONS FOR SUPPORT

A. Anti-Shackling Mandate

The use of shackles on pregnant individuals during prenatal care, labor and delivery, and postpartum care interferes with a physician’s abilities to deliver appropriate and safe medical care. The medical risks of shackle use are well documented, including, inter alia:

i. the shifting of a pregnant individual’s center of gravity, increasing the risk the individual will fall and harm the fetus;

ii. the delay of emergency care for conditions such as hypertension, pre-eclampsia, appendicitis, kidney infection, preterm labor, and vaginal bleeding that can endanger the parent and the fetus; and

iii. the limitation of a pregnant individual’s mobility during labor, inhibiting adjustment for pain and discomfort and preventing walking, which could decrease risk of post-labor medical complications.[6]

Despite these well-documented harms, previous legislation banning shackling has left loopholes, meaning that incarcerated individuals still face the risk of shackling during prenatal, labor and delivery, and postpartum care.[7] The Act seeks to address these deficiencies in the current law that still allow for this harmful practice, including by banning use of restraints on this population in police stations and other custodial settings.

B. Protection from the Harmful Use of Unnecessary Force

Under New York law, corrections officers are authorized in limited circumstances to use force such as spit masks, chemical agents, tasers, and weapons against incarcerated individuals.[8]  New York law has no explicit prohibition on the use of such force on pregnant individuals facing incarceration, which can present immense risks to both the pregnant individual and the fetus.[9] The Act would expressly prohibit the use of such force against pregnant and postpartum individuals, thereby decreasing dangers to the health and safety of the fetus, infant, and incarcerated parent.

C. Privacy, Dignity, and Interpersonal Support

Individuals who are pregnant or give birth while incarcerated often experience dehumanizing conditions and severe psychological trauma.[10] Privacy remains a significant concern; these individuals often face a serious degradation of privacy and medical autonomy over the course of pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period.[11]

The Act affirms the dignity and fundamental human rights of incarcerated pregnant individuals and postpartum parents by improving access to essential interpersonal support during pregnancy-related appointments. Moreover, the Act expands privacy protections by extending and strengthening bans on the presence of corrections officers during all pregnancy-related medical care. In doing so, this legislation will increase emotional support while decreasing the risks that incarcerated individuals will suffer degradation of privacy and medical autonomy in pregnancy-related care.

III. CONCLUSION

By codifying comprehensive protections against the use of restraints and force, the Act rectifies dangerous statutory gaps that leave pregnant and postpartum individuals vulnerable. This legislation extends the 2009 ban on shackling to all custodial settings and explicitly prohibits the use of unnecessary force, such as chemical agents and tasers, against pregnant and postpartum incarcerated individuals. Beyond physical safety, the Act affirms the fundamental human rights and dignity of incarcerated pregnant and postpartum individuals by improving access to essential interpersonal support and medical privacy. These measures align state policy more closely with medical consensus and the New York State Constitution’s Equal Rights Amendment, which explicitly bars discrimination based on “pregnancy, pregnancy outcome, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”[12] Ultimately, this Act serves as a vital intervention to help protect the health, safety, and reproductive autonomy of New York’s most vulnerable families. For all of these reasons, the Committees urges passage of A.1670-A/S.2667-B.

Sex & the Law Committee[13]
Susan Cersovsky, Co-Chair
Natalie Birnbaum, Co-Chair

Civil Rights Committee
Evan Henley, Co- Chair

May 2026