Sponsors (18)
The bill strengthens health, safety, and legal protections for pregnant and postpartum people in federal custody—improving care, banning shackling and most restrictive housing, expanding accountability and data—at the cost of increased implementation, staffing, reporting, and litigation expenses and operational challenges for detention systems and taxpayers.
Pregnant and postpartum incarcerated and detained people nationwide are protected from shackling and restrictive housing from pregnancy confirmation through at least 12 weeks postpartum, with required daily reviews and individualized transition plans that reduce physical and mental harm.
Pregnant and postpartum people in custody will get more timely, comprehensive pregnancy-related health care (prenatal screening within 14 days, high‑risk OB care, substance-use and mental‑health screening, contraception/STI access), plus lactation support and guaranteed immediate bonding after delivery, improving maternal and infant outcomes.
Corrections and immigration detention staff will receive standardized training and federal technical assistance on pregnancy, labor, postpartum needs, and alternatives to restraints, institutionalizing pregnancy‑informed care across jurisdictions.
Taxpayers, federal, state, and local facilities will face increased costs for training, medical services, staff, nursery/residential spaces, data collection/reporting, transfers, and potential settlements from litigation.
Detention and correctional facilities and staff will face significant operational and logistical burdens (tight training and reporting deadlines, housing/transport/nutrition adjustments, daily reviews), straining staffing, space, and existing contracts.
New private rights of action across agencies increase litigation and liability risk for agencies and facilities, potentially driving legal costs, insurance, and diversion of resources away from services.
Based on analysis of 13 sections of legislative text.
Limits restraints and restrictive housing for pregnant and postpartum people, mandates training, health care and mother–infant supports, data collection, reporting, and private enforcement remedies.
Official title: To address the health needs of incarcerated women related to pregnancy and childbirth, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 7, 2026 by Sydney Kamlager-Dove · Last progress May 7, 2026
Requires federal correctional and immigration detention systems, and state/local facilities housing women, to stop routine use of restraints and restrictive housing for pregnant people from pregnancy confirmation through at least 12 weeks postpartum except in narrowly defined emergency situations. The bill mandates training for staff, new healthcare and housing protocols, expanded data collection and reporting, nursery/residential services and lactation support, access to contraception and pregnancy testing, transfer options and sentence credit for high‑risk pregnancies, and private rights of action and periodic congressional reporting. Implements standards across the Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Marshals Service, DHS (CBP/ICE), and HHS (ORR) custody systems; requires technical assistance, BJS and agency statistics, a GAO study of practices and outcomes, and administrative transparency on remedies and restrictive‑housing incidents.