I think I'm going to support her. I don't care if she's a Republican or a Democrat, I like her ideas for state reforms and her stand on human rights issues.
Corrections Reforms
Marquez's work on the Corrections Committee led to the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition to name her the "Best Freshman Legislator" in appreciation of her "outstanding work ethic and commitment to improving the lives of Texans through thoughtful and efficient policy."
Three critical bills that Marques authored will ensure more humane treatment for inmates and will reduce repeat offenses. One of the bills would make reference and educational materials more available to Texas inmates by allowing certain organizations to mail books directly to them. Inmates, therefore, will be extended an opportunity to self-educate, allowing them to become active members of society upon release.
Two of her bills would develop health care standards for imprisoned pregnant woman and would ensure safe birthing environments for the mother, child, and correctional staff by prohibiting the use of restraints during labor.
Marquez understands that the goal of incarceration should be rehabilitation, and these measures make that prospect more likely.
(HB 3649, HB 3653 HB 3654)
Now, I was not aware that restraints are used on pregnant inmates during labor.
This is wrong, because it can put both mother and child at risk of injuries during the birthing process.
So, I decided to do more research on this subject.
Here is a web site at:
http://thecrimereport.org/2009/08/31/mo ... prisoners/
OK. Now I don't give a flying fuck if a pregnant female inmate is a bank robber or an ax murderer!Movement Builds to Stop Shackling Pregnant Prisoners
Monday, August 31st, 2009 9:05 am
New York becomes sixth state to sign a law prohibiting the practice. The Editors
of The Crime Report take a look behind the scenes of this trend.
Special Report
The movement to ban shackling pregnant prisoners is gaining national momentum. Last Thursday, New Yorkâ??s Governor David Paterson signed a bill banning the practice for all but the most unruly inmates, making the state the sixth to enact such a law.
Prisons have been shackling women before, during and after childbirth for decades, but advocates say that a combination of new federal prison practices and increased pressure from human rights groups is accelerating reform.
The first state law banning restraints during labor passed in Illinois in 2000, but it wasnâ??t until seven years later that one the movementâ??s chief advocates, Malika Saada Saar, founder and director of the Rebecca Project for Human Rights, took up the issue after hearing tales of shackling from the former female prisoners in her leadership classes. Saar, with help from Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (who, in his nomination hearings, asked Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey if he agreed with the practice) began meeting with the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Marshals Service, with the hope of convincing them to stop shackling.
After what Saar describes as a full year of back and forth negotiations, in October 2008 both agencies agreed to stop routinely shackling pregnant inmates, and ban all use of belly shackles. Previously, pregnant women being transported to medical facilities (and during labor) were often restrained at the arms, legs and across their middle, even though the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has said the practice puts the woman and her unborn child â??at risk.â?
â??I think the change at the federal level signaled to states that this was a policy change they should implement,â? said Saar, who is now planning a national push to encourage states to enact similar reform. â??There might be a way to tie federal funding to the use of shackles, but thatâ??s a punitive approach, which isnâ??t ideal.â?
New York State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, has been trying to get legislative support for un-shackling for eight years. Sen. Montgomery was on vacation last week when her bill finally became law, but her Director of Communications Jim Vogel told The Crime Report that for years Montgomery couldnâ??t even find an Assembly member to co-sponsor the bill.
â??Eight years ago this issue wasnâ??t on anybodyâ??s radar,â? said Vogel. But with a Democrat in the Governorâ??s mansion and Montgomeryâ??s new role as the Chair of the Children and Families Committee, the stars were aligned.
But the movement has not been without set-backs. In May 2008, the Eighth Circuit upheld Arkansasâ??s practice of shackling pregnant prisoners by the legs and arms during labor.
If she is in labor, and about to give birth, then she should be given the same consideration as any pregnant women in labor.
Why do I say this?
Well, it's not because I'm some "bleeding heart" liberal, but it's because . . . . .
THE BABY IS INNOCENT!!!
Being restrained and shackled during labor might increase the risk of injury to both the mother and the child, and if the child is born with a disability, and has to grow up with a disability as a result of injuries during birth, then the rest of society has to foot the bill.
So, as long as a female inmate is in labor, she is no longer a bank robber or an ax murderer. She's a mother giving birth, and should be given that consideration during labor, and after the baby is born, she should have the right to hold her child and to breast-feed her child.
The child does not deserve to be put at risk of injury just because the mother has committed a crime and is serving time for it. The baby didn't commit any crimes, so why should the baby be put at risk.
Sorry, Bubbahs! But while Mrs Bank Robber or Mrs Ax Murderer is in labor, then she's The Queen and must be treated as such during labor, if only for the sake of the innocent baby.
Why must children be punished for the crimes of their parents?
That's an absolutely medieval attitude. It's like still believing the Earth is flat!
I'm fat and sassy! I love to sing & dance & stomp my feet & really rock your world!
