INMATE'S LAWSUIT SAYS SHE WAS KEPT IN SHACKLES DURING LABOR

Despite complaints, only 2 states have laws forbidding practice
Shawanna Nelson, a prisoner at the McPherson Unit in Newport, Ark.,
had been in labor for more than 12 hours when she arrived at Newport
Hospital on Sept. 20, 2003. Ms. Nelson, whose legs were shackled
together and who had been given nothing stronger than Tylenol all day,
begged, according to court papers, to have the shackles removed.

Though her doctor and two nurses joined in the request, her lawsuit
says, the guard in charge of her refused.

"She was shackled all through labor," said Ms. Nelson's lawyer,
Cathleen V. Compton. "The doctor who was delivering the baby made them
remove the shackles for the actual delivery at the very end."

Despite sporadic complaints and occasional lawsuits, the practice of
shackling prisoners in labor continues to be relatively common, state
legislators and a human rights group said.

Only two states, California and Illinois, have laws forbidding the
practice. The New York Legislature is considering a similar bill. Ms.
Nelson's suit, which seeks to ban the use of restraints on Arkansas
prisoners during labor and delivery, is to be tried in Little Rock
this spring.

The California law, which came into force in January, was prompted by
widespread problems, said Sally J. Lieber, a Democratic assemblywoman.
"We found this was going on in some institutions in California and
all over the United States," Ms. Lieber said. "It presents risks not
only for the inmate giving birth, but also for the infant."

Corrections officials say they must strike a balance between security
and the well-being of the pregnant woman and her child.

"Though these are pregnant women," said Dina Tyler, a spokeswoman for
the Arkansas Department of Corrections, "they are still convicted
felons, and sometimes violent in nature. There have been instances
when we've had a female inmate try to hurt hospital staff during delivery."

Dee Ann Newell, who has taught classes in prenatal care and parenting
for female prisoners in Arkansas for 15 years, said she found the
practice of shackling women in labor appalling. "If you have ever
seen a woman have a baby," Ms. Newell said, "you know we squirm. We
move around."

Twenty-three state corrections departments, along with the federal
Bureau of Prisons, have policies that expressly allow restraints
during labor, according to a report by Amnesty International U.S.A. on
Wednesday.

The corrections departments of five states prohibit the practice.