Relates to the health, safety and human rights of incarcerated pregnant individuals, incarcerated birthing parents and their children; requires the commissioner of corrections and community supervision to establish rules and regulations relating to conditions in institutions and correctional facilities and the treatment and care of birthing parents in such institutions and facilities.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A4879A
SPONSOR: Kelles TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the correction law, in relation to promoting the health,
safety, and human rights of incarcerated pregnant individuals, incarcer-
ated birthing parents of children and their children
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to establish a comprehensive human rights-
based statutory policy relating to incarcerated pregnant or postpartum
individuals and their children in New York state and local correctional
facilities
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one states the legislative purpose and findings.
Section 2 amends section 611 of the correction law adding a new title
"1. "Rights and care of birthing parents and such persons' children" and
adds definitions of terms, "birthing parent," "prenatal," "perinatal,"
"postpartum," "nursery" and "timely" as used in the section. 2(a), (b),
(c),(d) and (e) changes language to be gender neutral. New paragraph 3.
states "birthing parents shall be provided with comprehensive and unin-
terrupted access to prenatal, perinatal, and postpartum care" and lists
details about that care in (a) through (aa). New paragraph 4. states "a
child shall have the right to return with their birthing parent and
remain in the institution or local correctional facility with their
birthing parent and details the length of time and other considerations
relative to the rights of birthing parent and their child. New paragraph
5. lists the rights and conditions of the birthing parent and their
child in the nursery of a correctional institution or local correctional
facility in (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g). New paragraph 6.
establishes the rights of the children born to birthing parents and
cared for in the nursery of the institution or local correctional facil-
ity in (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (k) and (1). Newly
numbered paragraph 7 changes language to gender neutral. New paragraph
8. addresses enforcement, creating rules and regulations and the abili-
ty of a birthing parent who claims that either they or their child have
been denied the rights provided in this section, be enforceable by an
article 78 proceeding.
Section 3 amends subdivision 33 of section 2 of the correction law to
change the period of time from eight weeks to three months that a person
who is pregnant shall be considered part of "special populations."
Section 4 is the severability clause.
Section 5 sets the effective date.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
The 2025 version of the bill further defines rights of incarcerated
birthing parents and their children and expands upon the resources to be
provided to them. The additions are informed by professional organiza-
tions, including those which directly assist currently incarcerated
birthing parents and their children.
The "A" print of A4879 makes a change to the timing of the appointment
with a health care provider when the institution or local correctional
facility learns a person in custody is pregnant. The change is made
after consultation with the American college of obstetricians and gyne-
cologists.
The other change in the "A" print of A4879 is the removal of language
requiring access to a lactation consultant because that language is
similar to language in other pending legislation.
JUSTIFICATION:
Incarceration can negatively impact the health of pregnant people and
their infants. Incarcerated individuals are more likely than the general
population of pregnant individuals to have chronic illnesses, mental
health conditions, and substance use disorders, which can increase the
risk of negative pregnancy outcomes (1). Incarcerated people are also
significantly less likely to receive prenatal care and medical and
behavioral services for preexisting conditions during pregnancy, with
some studies showing over 45% of pregnant individuals received no prena-
tal care at all (2). As a result infants born to incarcerated individ-
uals have a higher likelihood of being born prematurely and small for
gestational age and are at an increased risk for NICU admission (3). In
addition, incarceration is associated with poorer perinatal health
behaviors than the general population leading to long term negative
health outcomes for both the parent and the child, which can lead to
multigenerational negative physical, emotional, behavioral, and social
outcomes (4,5). In contrast, according to the National Partnership for
Women & Families, "interventions that included not only enhanced care in
prisons and co-residence with children after birth, but also coordi-
nation of community care on release, demonstrated reduced likelihood of
future involvement with the justice system over the 10 years following
release when compared to women in the same facilities that did not
receive the intervention" (2).
According to the American Journal of Public Health, "At the end of 2016,
there were 111,616 women in prisons across the United States, a 742%
increase from the 13,258 women in prisons in 1980. The United States has
4% of the world's female population but 30% of its female incarcerated
population. Three quarters of incarcerated women are of childbearing age
(between 18 and 44 years). Two thirds are mothers and the primary care-
givers to young children, and up to 84% have been pregnant in the past.
In addition, up to 80% of incarcerated women report that they had been
sexually active with men in the 3 months before their incarceration, and
only 21% to 28% were using a reliable method of contraception." (6)
Invariably, with these increasing numbers we will continue to see
increasing numbers of individuals who are pregnant or parents of infants
being incarcerated.
A statewide system that required: early identification of pregnant indi-
viduals followed by comprehensive prenatal care, screening and treatment
of pre-existing conditions, proper nutrition and exercise, the develop-
ment of a birthing plan, a humane delivery that followed medical and
public health best practices, and comprehensive postnatal care including
time and appropriate space for parent-child bonding would significantly
improve physical and behavioral health outcomes for the parent and
child. It would also significantly reduce recidivism rates for the
adults thus improving public safety in communities. Yet we do not have a
system of care in our carceral systems to ensure prenatal, delivery best
practices, nor postnatal care to incarcerated individuals and their
infants. This lack of healthcare ensures that our very carceral system
is part of the problem contributing to negative intergenerational health
outcomes and reduced public health for our communities.
All people who are in state custody should be treated humanely and with
dignity that all humans deserve. We have too often witnessed instances
of mistreatment, neglect and even death when the human needs of people
incarcerated are disregarded by those charged with supervising and
protecting them while in custody. This is even more egregious when
incarcerated people who are pregnant suffer indignities and are made to
suffer by deliberate decisions to deny access to healthcare that their
circumstances require. We have a responsibility as a state to ensure our
laws are written to protect people in state custody, including those who
happen to be pregnant and giving birth while in custody. Their children
deserve protection and support during the first months of life, which
are critical to bonding and developing healthy relationships with their
parent. This bill, when enacted, will ensure the state meets these
responsibilities.
(1): https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/
fullarticle/2769101 :-: text=Thet2Olimitedk20existingk
2Oresearchk2Oon,families7520and%20communitiesW20 moret20 broadly.
(2): https://nationalpartnership.org/report/incarceration- harms-moms-
andbabies/ :-:text= IncarcerationUOrisks%20thek2OhealthW20of,
reportedk2Ohavingt2 Odepression%20andW20anxiety.
(3): https://www.nature.com/articles/s41372-024-02170-4
(4): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/
PMC4161663/ :-:text=Incarcerationk 20oft2Oat
2Owomank2Oor%2Ohert2Opartnerk2Oin%20theU0year, disparitiest2Oin%20ea
rlyk20childhoodU0development.
(5): https://policyinstitute.iu.edu/doc/maternal-
incarceration-brief2023.pdf?utm source=chatgpt.com
(6): https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/ 10.2105/AJPH.2019.305006?utm
sours e=chatgpt.com
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24 - A7630A - referred to Correction and reported to Codes
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
TBD
EFFECTIVE DATE:
180 days after signed into law.
