The Momnibus: Justice for Incarcerated Moms Act

Introduced by Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Senator Cory Booker

Background

From 1980 to 2016, the number of women in prisons across the United States increased 742 percent: there are now more than 100,000 incarcerated women, and three-quarters of them are of childbearing age.19Women in prison are at a heightened risk for maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity: “Incarcerated pregnant women are more likely to have...risk factors for poor perinatal outcomes than are nonincarcerated pregnant women.”1 The threat is particularly acute for Black women, who are imprisoned at twice the rate of white women.20

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 BlackMaternalHealthCaucus@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. A Better Balance
  3. ACA Consumer Advocacy
  4. ACHNE
  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 College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
  16. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
  17. American Heart Association
  18. American Muslim Health Professionals
  19. American Nurses Association
  20. American Psychological Association
  21. American Public Health Association
  22. Ancient Song
  23. Anxiety and Depression Association of America
  24. Arika Trim Foundation
  25. Association of Black Cardiologists
  26. Association of Black Women Physicians
  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. Black Mamas Matter Alliance, Inc. (BMMA)
  37. Black Mothers Breastfeeding Association
  38. Black Women Birthing Justice, Inc
  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. Center for Reproductive Rights
  54. Champaign County Health Care Consumers
  55. Children's Health Fund
  56. Cityblock Health
  57. Commonsense Childbirth Inc.
  58. Community Catalyst
  59. Deans' Nursing Policy Coalition
  60. Diversity Uplifts, Inc.
  61. DONA International
  62. Dr. Shalon's Maternal Action Project
  63. EcoMadres
  64. EverThrive Illinois
  65. Every Mother Counts
  66. Families USA
  67. Federation of American Hospitals
  68. Fibroid Foundation
  69. First Focus Campaign for Children
  70. Futures Without Violence
  71. GA Maternal Fetal Health Alliance
  72. GLO Preemies
  73. Glow Birth & Body and The Birth Deck
  74. Grow Midwives, LLC
  75. Hackensack Meridian Health
  76. Harambee Birth and Family Center (HBFC)
  77. Health Tech for Medicaid (HT4M)
  78. HealthConnect One
  79. Healthy Birth Day Inc.
  80. HealthyWomen
  81. Heluna Health
  82. In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda
  83. Ingram Screening, LLC
  84. International OCD Foundation
  85. Lamaze International
  86. Lifeline for Families Center and Lifeline for Moms Program at UMass Chan Medical School
  87. Living Well Black
  88. Luna Tierra Birth Center
  89. Majaica
  90. Malone Center
  91. Mamatoto Village
  92. March for Moms
  93. March of Dimes
  94. Mary Amelia Center for Women's Health Equity Research
  95. Maternal Applications of Technology for Community Health (MATCH) Coalition
  96. Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance
  97. Maternity Care Coalition
  98. Melinated Moms
  99. Mental Health America
  100. Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health
  101. Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable
  102. Mom Congres
  103. Mom.ME.
  104. Mom2Mom Global
  105. Momma’s Village Fayetteville
  106. Moms Clean Air Force
  107. MomsRising
  108. Mothering Justice
  109. Mothers Out Front
  110. NARAL Pro-Choice America
  111. Narrative Nation Inc.
  112. National Alliance to impact the Social Determinants of Health (NASDOH)
  113. National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM)
  114. National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health
  115. National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health
  116. National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
  117. National Association of School Nurses
  118. National Health Law Program
  119. National Healthy Start Association
  120. National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice
  121. National League for Nursing
  122. National Medical Association
  123. National Medical Fellowships, Inc.,
  124. National Organization for Women
  125. National Organization for Women - Hollywood Chapter
  126. National Partnership for Women & Families
  127. National Perinatal Task Force
  128. National Rural Health Association
  129. National Student Nurses' Association
  130. National Urban League
  131. National WIC Association
  132. National Women's Law Center
  133. Nemours Children's Health
  134. NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
  135. New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute
  136. Nurse-Family Partnership
  137. Nurses for America
  138. Nzuri Doula Services
  139. Ob Hospitalist Group
  140. Once Upon A Preemie, Inc
  141. PA Education Association
  142. Pace University
  143. Partners In Health
  144. Poppy Seed Health
  145. Postpartum Support International (PSI)
  146. Power to Decide
  147. Pregnancy Justice
  148. Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association
  149. Prolacta Bioscience
  150. Protect Our Care
  151. Reach Healthcare - Happy Mama
  152. riskLD
  153. Shades of Blue Project
  154. Sista Midwife Productions
  155. Sister to Sister International, Inc.
  156. SisterReach
  157. SisterReach Illinois
  158. Six Dimensions
  159. SMART Recovery
  160. Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
  161. Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior
  162. Society for Women's Health Research
  163. Sojourners
  164. Star Legacy Foundation
  165. The Arc of the United States
  166. The Children's Partnership
  167. The Collaborative
  168. The Kennedy Forum
  169. The National Women's Health Network
  170. The Root Cause Coalition
  171. The United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society
  172. Third Way
  173. Trust for America's Health
  174. U.S. Breastfeeding Committee
  175. Union for Reform Judaism
  176. United Against Inequities in Disease
  177. United Church of Christ Justice and Local Church Ministries
  178. University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
  179. Urban Baby Beginnings
  180. Urban Mommy Inc
  181. Vitality Wellness Solutions PLLC
  182. What to Expect Project
  183. Wolomi
  184. ZERO TO THREE

 

19 Sufrin, Beal, Clarke, Jones, and Mosher: Pregnancy Outcomes in US Prisions, 2016-2017

20 Ibid.