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March 30, 2018

North Carolina Prohibits Shackling Women Prisoners During Childbirth
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Meanwhile, the head of North Carolina's state prisons has ordered an end
to a policy allowing pregnant women prisoners to be shackled while in
labor. At least eight U.S. states have no laws preventing the practice,
while many other states have loopholes that allow it. In 2010, the
American Medical Association condemned the practice, writing, "The use
of shackles to restrain a pregnant woman during the birthing process is
a barbaric practice that needlessly inflicts excruciating pain and
humiliation."


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