WASHINGTON, D.C. — Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff is currently introducing a bipartisan bill to protect pregnant women in police & government custody.
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In 2024, Sen. Ossoff investigated the alleged abuse that pregnant women in Georgia state prisons and jails face as the Chair of the Human Rights Subcommittee. His investigation revealed pervasive abuse that was occurring in prisons and jails, such as women being shackled by their stomachs and undergoing C-sections against their will.
This week, Sen. Ossoff and Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) introduced the Births in Custody Reporting Act which aims to strengthen Federal oversight of pregnancy care.
The bill would require ‘individual states to report to the Attorney General information regarding pregnancy care and outcomes for individuals in custody, including the number of pregnant individuals in custody, their length of stay in custody, any pregnancy outcomes that occur while such individuals are in custody, and whether births took place inside the facility or at a hospital’.
States that would fail to provide data would face up to a 10% reduction in Federal funding.
“The humanitarian crisis behind bars in the State of Georgia and across the United States is one of the most extreme civil rights problems happening in the country today,” Sen. Ossoff said. “As part of my sustained work to safeguard human rights, I’m introducing this bipartisan bill to better protect pregnant women in prisons and jails in Georgia and nationwide.”
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