The Momnibus: Justice for Incarcerated Moms Act

Introduced by Representative Ayanna Pressley and Senator Cory Booker

Background

From 1980 to 2023, the number of women in prisons across the United States increased by more than 600 percent.¹ As the number of incarcerated women has grown, so has the number of incarcerated pregnant women, which is currently estimated at 4% or 5%, although comprehensive federal data on this population is lacking.² Women in prison face a heightened risk of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, and a recent Bureau of Justice Statistics report found significant gaps in care that could explain why.³⁴ These gaps disproportionately affect Black women, who in 2023 were imprisoned at 1.6 times the rate of white women.⁵

The Justice for Incarcerated Moms Act provides funding to promote exemplary care for pregnant and postpartum people who are incarcerated. The bill also commissions a comprehensive study to understand the scope of the maternal health crisis among incarcerated people and to make recommendations to prevent maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity in American prisons and jails. Finally, the bill ties federal funding for state and local prisons and jails to prohibitions on the use of restraints for incarcerated pregnant people to end the practice of shackling.

For more information or to add your organization’s endorsement to the list below, please email Momnibus@mail.house.gov.

Bill Summary

The Justice for Incarcerated Moms Act will:

  1. Use financial incentives for all state and local prisons and jails to end the practice of shackling pregnant people.
  2. Provide funding for federal, state, and local prisons and jails to establish programs for pregnant and postpartum women in their facilities, including access to support for doulas and other perinatal health workers, counseling, reentry assistance, maternal-infant bonding opportunities, and diversionary programs to prevent incarceration for pregnant and postpartum people.
  3. Commission a comprehensive study on maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity among incarcerated people, with a particular focus on racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes.

Click HERE for a printable one-pager on the bill.

Cosponsors

Click HERE for the current list of House cosponsors and HERE for the current list of Senate cosponsors.

Endorsements

The Justice for Incarcerated Moms Act is endorsed by the following organizations:

  1. 1,000 Days, an initiative of FHI Solutions
  2. 4Kira4Moms
  3. A Better Balance
  4. ACA Consumer Advocacy 
  5. African American Breastfeeding Network
  6. African Heritage PA Caucus
  7. Alliance to End Hunger
  8. American Academy of Family Physicians
  9. American Academy of Nursing
  10. American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
  11. American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work
  12. American Association of Birth Centers
  13. American Association of Colleges of Nursing
  14. American College of Nurse-Midwives
  15. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
  16. American Heart Association
  17. American Muslim Health Professionals
  18. American Nurses Association
  19. American Psychological Association
  20. American Public Health Association
  21. Ancient Song Doula Services
  22. Anxiety and Depression Association of America
  23. Arika Trim Foundation
  24. Association of Black Cardiologists
  25. Association of Black Women Physicians
  26. Association of Community Health Nursing Educators (ACHNE) 
  27. Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
  28. Association of Physician Associates in Obstetrics and Gynecology
  29. Association of State Public Health Nutritionists (ASPHN)
  30. Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
  31. Baby Cafe USA
  32. Babyscripts
  33. Bayard Rustin Liberation Initiative
  34. Big Cities Health Coalition
  35. Birthing Beautiful Communities
  36. Birthing Project USA
  37. Black Mamas Village
  38. Black Mothers Breastfeeding Association
  39. Bloom Maternal Health
  40. Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA)
  41. Blue Shield of California
  42. Bobbie
  43. Boston Medical Center
  44. Breastfeed Durham
  45. Breastfeeding Family Friendly Communities
  46. BreastfeedLA
  47. California Breastfeeding Coalition
  48. CAPPA (Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association)
  49. Catholic Health Association of the United States
  50. Catholics for Choice
  51. Center for American Progress
  52. Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
  53. Champaign County Health Care Consumers
  54. Changent (Child First & Nurse-Family Partnership)
  55. Children's Health Fund
  56. Cityblock Health
  57. Commonsense Childbirth Inc.
  58. Community Catalyst
  59. Deans' Nursing Policy Coalition
  60. DONA International
  61. Doula Alliance of Arkansas
  62. Dr. Shalon's Maternal Action Project
  63. EcoMadres
  64. Engage: Promoting Women’s Economic Security
  65. EverThrive Illinois
  66. Every Mother Counts
  67. Families USA
  68. Fayetteville Police Accountability Community Taskforce
  69. Federation of American Hospitals
  70. Fibroid Foundation
  71. First Focus Campaign for Children
  72. Futures Without Violence
  73. GA Maternal Fetal Health Alliance
  74. GLO Preemies
  75. Glow Birth & Body and The Birth Deck
  76. Grow Midwives, LLC
  77. Hackensack Meridian Health
  78. Harambee Doula Care & Holistic Services
  79. Health Tech for Medicaid (HT4M)
  80. HealthConnect One
  81. Healthy Birth Day Inc.
  82. HealthyWomen
  83. Heluna Health
  84. Hustle Mommies
  85. Ingram Screening, LLC
  86. International OCD Foundation
  87. Lamaze International
  88. Lifeline for Families Center and Lifeline for Moms Program at UMass Chan Medical School
  89. Living Well Black
  90. Luna Tierra Birth Center
  91. Mainline Maternity Care
  92. Majaica
  93. Malone Center
  94. March of Dimes
  95. Mary Amelia Center for Women's Health Equity Research
  96. Maternal Applications of Technology for Community Health (MATCH) Coalition
  97. Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance
  98. Maternity Care Coalition
  99. Melinated Moms
  100. Mental Health America
  101. Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health
  102. Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable
  103. Mom Congres
  104. Mom.ME.
  105. Mom2Mom Global
  106. Momma’s Village Fayetteville
  107. Moms Clean Air Force
  108. MomsRising
  109. Most Beautiful W.O.M.B. Inc
  110. Mothering Justice
  111. Mothers Out Front
  112. Narrative Nation Inc.
  113. National Alliance to impact the Social Determinants of Health (NASDOH)
  114. National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM)
  115. National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health
  116. National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health
  117. National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
  118. National Association of School Nurses
  119. National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Chicago-Metropolitan Chapter
  120. National Council of Negro Women (NCNW)
  121. National Health Law Program
  122. National Healthy Start Association
  123. National League for Nursing
  124. National Medical Association
  125. National Medical Fellowships, Inc.,
  126. National Organization for Women
  127. National Organization for Women - Hollywood Chapter
  128. National Perinatal Task Force
  129. National Urban League
  130. National WIC Association
  131. National Women's Law Center
  132. Nemours Children's Health
  133. NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
  134. New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute
  135. Northeast Arkansas Doulas
  136. Nurses for America
  137. Nzuri Doula Services
  138. Ob Hospitalist Group
  139. Once Upon A Preemie, Inc
  140. PA Education Association
  141. Pace University
  142. Partners In Health
  143. Poppy Seed Health
  144. Postpartum Support International (PSI)
  145. Pregnancy Justice
  146. Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association
  147. Prolacta Bioscience
  148. Reach Healthcare - Happy Mama
  149. riskLD
  150. Roots and River Wellness
  151. Sista Midwife Productions
  152. Sister to Sister International, Inc.
  153. SisterReach
  154. SisterReach Illinois
  155. Six Dimensions
  156. SMART Recovery
  157. Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior
  158. Society for Women's Health Research
  159. Sojourners
  160. Star Legacy Foundation
  161. The Arc of the United States
  162. The Children's Partnership
  163. The Collaborative
  164. The Kennedy Forum
  165. The National Women's Health Network
  166. The Root Cause Coalition
  167. The United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society
  168. Third Way
  169. Trust for America's Health
  170. U.S. Breastfeeding Committee
  171. Union for Reform Judaism
  172. United Against Inequities in Disease
  173. United Church of Christ Justice and Local Church Ministries
  174. University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
  175. Urban Baby Beginnings
  176. Urban Mommy Inc
  177. Vitality Wellness Solutions PLLC
  178. What to Expect Project
  179. Wolomi
  180. ZERO TO THREE

 

 

1 The Sentencing Project: Incarcerated Women and Girls

2 GAO: Pregnant Women in State Prisons and Local Jails:Federal Assistance to Support Their Care

3 NIH: Pregnancy Outcomes in US Prisons

4 DOJ: Maternal Healthcare and Pregnancy Prevalence and Outcomes in Prisons

5 The Sentencing Project: Incarcerated Women and Girls