I was having a completely unrelated email conversation with author Pamela Clare this past week when I learned something rather amazing that she did, and I wanted to share this with you. Here’s another answer to anyone who says that romances are all the same, and they are all meaningless fluff.
Romance novels can and have had an impact on the real world, and Ms. Clare’s an example of that. A journalist by profession, she’s the author of the I-Team romantic suspense series. Last year, she wrote a law that passed in Colorado last year banning use of shackles on female inmates giving birth while imprisoned.
This story is amazing. Seriously, my jaw hit my desk. But please be aware, before you click for more, that there are some brutal stories in Clare’s account about women in labor in prisons in the US. Unflinchingly brutal. Be warned.
Clare: The law I wrote bans the use of shackles on inmates during labor and delivery. (Yes, women giving birth are chained to their beds WHILE being kept under guard.) I’ve covered women’s prison/jail issues extensively for more than 15 years and broke a number of sickening — truly sickening — stories regarding the abuse of inmates.
Some of the highlights were folded into UNLAWFUL CONTACT, one of my I-Team books. There are four real investigative stories folded into that plotline. One of them involved the neglect of a pregnant inmate, who went into labor a month prematurely and was ignored, made fun of, and left alone in her cell IN LABOR for about 24 hours. It wasn’t until the next day when a guard noticed that she was in distress that she was taken to the hospital, where her perfectly healthy baby girl was stillborn.
To add insult to this woman’s profound injury — she was in prison on drug charges — she was kept chained to her hospital bed during labor and delivery. So imagine giving birth to an unnecessarily dead baby while chained to the bed like an animal and getting no pain relief. She gave birth, her baby was put on a slab (where she remained for a few months as the inmate couldn’t pay for a funeral), and the inmate was taken back to prison. (I cannot fathom dealing with the scope of that loss locked in a 9×9 cell while bleeding from giving birth.)
I learned that the practice of chaining women in labor to beds is commonplace. Last year, only 8 states banned the practice. Although some states had Department of Corrections that had policies regulating the use of shackles, all jurisdictions in a state have their own policies (city police, county sheriff, etc.) UNLESS there’s a state policy governing the practice throughout the state.
I wrote UNLAWFUL CONTACT and included a fictional happy ending where the senator hero from EXTREME EXPOSURE gets a law passed banning the shackling of inmates in labor and during childbirth. I took all my research to my favorite pet lawmaker, a man, who said he didn’t see what the big deal was. He was no longer my favorite lawmaker. Ptttth.
Then I did nothing for a while.
But it ate at me so very much and that pretend catharsis from the end of UNLAWFUL CONTACT really made me want to make it happen.
So… Last year, I came up with a pretext for visiting the prison midwife and interviewed a bunch of pregnant and postpartum inmates. The story I wrote was supposed to be about their cool new prenatal program, but really I was sneaking around doing research on the shackling issue. I uncovered MORE hideous stories.
This shit haunted me at night. Truly, I had nights where I felt sick. You’re getting a vague outline; I had faces, names, whole stories.
I wrote an article about it, then took that article and all my research to the Senate President. Within 5 minutes of listening to me plead with him to do something to stop this, I had his permission to craft a bill, which he agreed to give late-bill status despite having told lawmakers that no new bills would be introduced.
I’m not a lawmaker, obviously, but once I had his guarantee of late-bill status, I found a WOMAN senator (yes, thank you) who took the bill I wrote, introduced it into the Senate, and carried it through. I wrote all her talking points. I also testified as the expert witness at all the hearings on the subject.
When the bill cleared the final hurdle in the last House committee, I was sitting next to several inmates whose stories I had covered. One of them was the woman who’d lost her baby. She reached over, took my hand, gave it a squeeze, and there were tears pouring down her face. (And now I’m getting teary-eyed remembering it.)
I cannot tell you what that meant to me.
SB 193 passed late in the session with a single NO vote from an asshat from Colorado Springs. Colorado became the 9th state to ban the shackling of pregnant inmates.
Our law contains a few unique things that I wrote in based on inmates’ experiences. It requires the prison/jail to allow a member of the medical staff to be on hand when a post-partum inmate is strip searched on her return to the facility. The horror stories of women with stitches in their vaginas being made to squat and cough while guards told them they didn’t care how much it hurt are hideous to hear.
Also, the law requires the state to make a public record of it every time they use some excuse to shackle an inmate during labor — and that provision is to allow nosy bitch journlists like me to check and see how often they’re making use of the “but she’s really dangerous” clause to ensure they don’t abuse it.
And that is the nutshell version of it. The bill passed.
I’ve been sharing what I did with women in other states in hopes of getting laws in all 50 states. We’ve jumped up to 12 now I think that ban it. Pennsylvania followed Colorado.
So it’s a case of real life going into my book, the book offering a happy ending I wanted in real life, and then I went out and (it still amazes me) made that happen. As a result, I was awarded the Society for Professional Journalists “Keeper of the Flame” Lifetime Achievement Award this year.
The complete account of the bill, and the before and after of what its passage means for women inmates in Colorado can be found at the Boulder Weekly site.
I am struck by the fact that writing a fictional happy ending wasn’t enough. Clare not only wrote a happy ending into her books, but went on to write the bill that banned ankle shackles on pregnant inmates. That is amazing. High fives to you, ma’am.
I’d love to know the name of the asshat who voted against the Bill – what could have been his reasoning?
Pamela, I’ve read all of your books except Breaking Point (because I refuse to buy any ebook that is priced the same as the paperback version). However, after reading this article, I went to Amazon and bought the ebook. I had to do *something* to support you.
“Criticize by creating…” that’s what you did…in a big way. Thank you for regaining a part of something sacred and for using degradation as a launching point for grace and new life.
Tears. In. My. Eyes.
Wow. Just wow.
Pamela, you are my new hero.
What an amazing story and what a wonderful achievement Pamela. I was a midwife for several years at a hospital where prison inmates were brought to give birth and they were treated the same as the other women giving birth – the only one that I ever saw wearing handcuffs had killed a baby previously and was a danger to her own baby and others. I hope that this is the same story in the rest of the UK and I have no reason to believe otherwise!
Congratulations for being a “true heroine”! I never knew this kind of thing went on behind prisons walls. How awful. I’m reminded of the scripture…“I was naked and you fed me…I was in prison and you came to me.” Matthew 25:36. Jesus gave us the example to follow for treatment of our fellow man. God bless you for being so bold!
I’d say you earned the award. You are amazing and have really made a difference! This brings tears for all the women and infants who still have to suffer such injustice.
Pamela, I would love any advice you can pass on. This is horrific and Ohio is one of the states with out a law banning it. I think this needs to change.
Wow. An amazing story. An amazing accomplishment. Huzzah, Pamela Clare. Well done.
Wow. Thank you for going the extra mile for those women. Amazing what one woman can do. Again, thank you.
A true ‘what I learned from romance’ moment—you should go out and write your Happy Ending in real life. So impressed by this I’m off to buy a book by Ms Clare as a token of my gratitude for services to womankind and, frankly, to humanity.
Bravissima to Ms. Clare – you not only saw something was Seriously Wrong, you had the guts to tackle it and put a stop to it! Huge kudoes.
This story has done something few do. It has gotten me to a point where I do not even know how to respond. I am quite sure my state that I love so much despite its many flaws still allows these women to be shackled. I never even thought about that. I will be looking into it and writing my senator and house rep.
Ms. Clare is an author who writes what she knows and lives what she writes. I read about this process and the final victory on her blog when it happened. An amazing achievement by an amazing woman.
You’re a real life shero, Ms. Clare. Thank you.
I’m finally home from the paper and just sat down to read through all of your comments. And now I’m totally choked up. I don’t even know how to respond, except to say that all of us have the ability to help change this crazy world in which we live — every single one of us.
Thank you all so much for seeing why this is important and for caring. (And thanks to those who decided to give my books a try. I hope you enjoy them.)
So here’s a quick guide for changing things in your state:
1. Before your legislative session starts, gather a posse of your friend. Take an inventory of your skills and available time. (Who writes well, who does good research, who has time to make phone calls, etc.)
2. Find you state chapter of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (The national office has a website, and you can call them if you can’t find one in your state.) Tell them you’re aware of this issue and want to get a shackling ban passed in your state ASAP. (The Colorado ACOG office found me after I had started the process, and they were very helpful in lending a medical voice to the conversation with impressive medical facts.)
3. Explore bills from other states and ape theirs to write your own.
4. Before the session starts, ID helpful potential candidates in the House and Senate. Meet with them. Share photocopies of bills, research, etc. (Feel free to pirate mine.)
5. Find a lawmaker in each house willing to carry the bill.
6. As interested groups approach, bring them into your circles.
7. After the bill has been introduced, contact LOCAL MEDIA and urge them to do a story on the bill (finding a sympathetic reporter is important).
8. Call your lawmakers. Spend a day in the Capitol going from office to office discussing it with them. Most that I spoke with truly didn’t believe that this even took place in the state. They said, “This is a solution in search of a problem,” and I had to watch my temper. They simply didn’t understand. Open their eyes politely yet insistently.
9. Don’t be partisan! I brought together pro-choice feminists and anti-abortion conservatives to get this bill passed. I pitched the “women’s rights” angle to the feminists and the “these babies are innocent” angle to the conservatives. Don’t be picky. Just create alliances.
10. Press your friends to call in as well. The department of corrections (prison system) will resist every step of the way. Work with prisoner rights groups to refute their arguments.
The Rebecca Project is trying to mount a national effort with regard to shackling.
In a couple of years, the entire country could be free of this practice. And bless you to anyone who takes it on! You can always reach me at my email: pamelaclare at earthlink dot net.
Sorry for the typos. Yes, I actually am a newspaper editor. :-/
To add one more thing if I might…
When ACOG and a variety of women’s rights groups found out I had drafted a bill and had late bill status and a lawmaker lined up, they called to tell me that they had planned to address this issue but wanted to wait till NEXT year.
My response: “Well, wait if you want, but I’m going to do my damned best to get it passed this year.”
I bet you’ll hear that too if you try to take this on. Don’t let it cow you. And if you don’t succeed the first year, learn from what happened, and be ready to come back with a vengeance the next year.
Ms Clare thanks for the advise I will be working on this come January. One point of contention though. Those of us who oppose abortion prefere to be called pro-life. I treat those who do support abortion by calling them pro-choice. I just ask that those of us who oppose abortion are treated with the same respect.
Fair enough, Heather.
And good luck! Please get in touch with me if I can be of any use to you.
I had no idea that this practice existed and can’t even imagine how a prison system could justify shackling a woman in labor. Do they shackle the male prisoners when they undergo a medical procedure (not that there’s anything equivalent to labor, but just wondered)?
This is wrong on so many counts. The world needs more Pamela Clares, people who fight injustice and try to make the world a more humane place. Didn’t see DC on the final list of places that ban the practice, so I now need to see what the law is here. If anything, our nation’s capital should be at the forefront of representing Truth, Justice, and the American Way, and shackling women in labor ain’t it.
Yes, Susan, they do shackle anyone and everyone going in for medical treatment. I’ve even heard of inmates in a coma being kept shackled and under guard. I’ve heard of guards demanding to stand by shackled inmates undergoing surgery until the inmate was under anesthesia.
The issue with labor and childbirth is that it’s a dynamic process that requires the mother to move in order to alleviate pain and to deliver a baby. Plus, if anything goes wrong, shackles could mean losing the baby because doctors wouldn’t be able to move the mother fast enough for, say, a c-section.
I think, overall, we have a long way to go when it comes to the treatment of inmates. But pain and potential medical crises increase for a laboring woman if she’s unable to move in a way that’s different from any other health situation.
Incredible – thank you so much for sharing. Pamela Clare is a legend!
Wow, Ms. Clare. Wow. I’m completely awed by you. I was already a die-hard fan of Pamela Clare the writer, but now I’m a fan of Pamela Clare the human being, too!
I’m already a huge fan of Pamela & her books. Reading this though, still gave me goosebumps. Just shows what one person can do if they start. All you lucky people who have yet to read her I-Team books – enjoy.
I am inexpressibly glad that my state has done something right in this case. Pamela, thank you so much for your hard work and thank you for your smart how-to post. I’ll link to it and tell my friends in the other 36 to get moving!
Gillian, there was a suggestion made about 20 years ago by Ann Widdecombe that shackling should be introduced in the UK. It didn’t make it into law and so I’m pretty certain that the practice is illegal here.
Wow. I’ve always loved the emotional intensity in Pamela’s books, but this just brings it to a whole new level.
Good job Ms. Clare. I’m relived that Texas doesn’t do that.
Awesome!
Out of curiosity, which states are the ones that ban the shackling?
It is rare to see people who have the determination bring about the changes that they imagine for the world. This takes gutsy to a whole different level. Wow.
Now that I have wiped the tears from my eyes and can see the keyboard….Wow, Pamela, you are just amazing. Makes me believe in the power of one as the catalyst for change.
The reason your books are so powerful is obvious – it comes right from the heart. Many thanks for your wonderful books.
Here’s the full list of states that ban shackling during labor: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia. Found it via this article in the Daily Beast. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/04/stop-shackling-pregnant-prisoners-new-push-to-ban-controversial-practice.html .
How shaming that my state is not on the list.
I was curious about who gave the NO vote on SB 193. It was Rep. Mark Waller, R-Colorado Springs.
A while ago, I remember watching an episode from The Pretender, I think, where, in a tense, gloomy atmosphere, the protagonist explored a long-abandoned medical facility. One of the elements supposed to provoke horror was the discovery of a childbirth bed with manacles.
Now I’m french, so I thought, or more like assumed, that this kind of treatment belonged in fictional horror scenes. So I’m reading that it will be banned, well duh ! Obviously ! But wait, if it was banned, then it happened ? In real life ?
The sad thing is, the direction things are sliding towards in France, I’m rather afraid we may have to watch out for such treatments of prisoners and perhaps take action… It certainly is reassuring to know that such action can be effective. And someone mentioned Amnesty International, they need and deserve support more than ever.
Thank you, Pamela Clare, for bringing me this bad and good news.
I live in a state where gay marriage is legal, but they still shackle women in labor? Shameful. I’ll be sending this along to Dave Loebsack, one of my congressmen, who also happens to be a friend.
Sarah- Maybe you could ask Jane at DA to cross post for most exposure? They have a big readership as well. Just a thought.
Pamela
Thank you so much for having the moral courage to go down a road that so few would dare to walk. Thank you for standing up and doing the right thing. I’m absolutely awed by your determination to get this bill passed and fearlessly going after such an appalling practice.
Simply put, thank you.
Thank you, everyone, for your comments.
To answer a question that was asked, Rep. Mark Waller was the “no” vote. His reasoning? He feared that leaving laboring inmates unshackled would put the guards at risk. He fixed on that, and there was just no convincing him that a 5-foot-2 pregnant woman having contractions wasn’t much of a real threat to a 6-foot 200-pound guard. (Some of the guards are women, but not the majority of them.)
People get into their heads that being a prison inmate or being a felon means that this person is inclined toward violence. But the majority of women who are in prison are there for drug- and alcohol-related offenses (possession, sale, drunk driving, etc.) Being a heroin addict doesn’t make a person likely to bash the crap out of a prison guard. Of course, some of the women are dangerous, but not all that many.
And what do most women in prison have in common? There’s one specific thing, and it’s this: Most were subject to physical and sexual abuse as children. That’s the one overwhelming similarity from woman to woman. These are women whose lives were torn apart as little girls who never got the love, the caring or the therapy they need. That doesn’t excuse their breaking the law, of course, but it does point to how destructive sexual abuse of girls is (and how prevalent).
Wow, sorry to go off there…
omg, omg, omg, squatting and coughing after an episiotomy. I’ve had six kids, don’t even want to imagine that. 🙁 Fabulous work, Pamela!
Diana, I so hear that! Routine episiotomies are becoming of thing of the past, but one story I reported on was about a woman who tore badly during delivery, in part because she was shackled, and who then had to do the cough-squat thing. Her baby was taken away immediately after birth, and after 13 days in jail, the charges against this woman were dropped. So she endured ALL of that — and she wasn’t even guilty.
Gasp!!!