Phree Labor


My brother invited himself over to dinner as I am sure all younger brothers sometimes do. We had dinner and headed out to get some ice cream. As we walked I told him about my ideas for an ad for Phreedum and some new designs in process. He offered some helpful feedback for which I was grossly appreciative of. We came back to my place, Allen was on his phone making plans for later that evening and I was on my computer doing a little research on something I recently learned about at a meeting at work. I wanted to make sure that what I heard, Pennsylvania just passed an Act stopping the shackling of incarcerated women during labor, was true.
And sure enough, as I perused the Women’s Law Project (a local agency that provides legal assistance for women centered issues in Philadelphia) website, I found the link for SB 1074 Healthy Birth for Incarcerated Women Act. My eyes popped and my jaw dropped when I read incarcerated women in 2010 in America were shackled during labor.
“That is crazy.” I said aloud.
“What?” my brother asked.
So I told him “They were shackling pregnant incarcerated women while they are in labor, they just passed a law to ban it.”
“Where was that in Africa or something?”
“No Al, in 2010 in Pennsylvania.”
I don’t know how these women got in prison. I can’t say I care. What I do care about is the importance of them being treated humanely which would include being able to have a safe and healthy labor/delivery process. The child deserves their chance at Phreedum and that definitely means making sure their journey, even if it starts in an incarcerated womb, is safe.
I’d encourage you to read more about Phree labor. Visit
http://www.womenslawproject.org/legislative/lgSB1074_action.html

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