Ossoff introduces bill to protect imprisoned moms to-be

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is introducing bipartisan legislation to protect pregnant women who are incarcerated.

This summer, Georgia women testified to shocking abuse of pregnant women in Georgia’s prisons and jails.

Sens. Ossoff and John Kennedy (R-LA) introduced the bipartisan Births in Custody Reporting Act to strengthen Federal oversight of pregnancy care in prisons and jails.

$70 million going to Georgia programs to combat opioid crisis

The Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust announced $70.3 million in grant funding to 128 Georgia-based projects to address the opioid crisis.

The bipartisan bill would require states to report statistical information regarding pregnancy care and outcomes for individuals in custody to the Attorney General, including the number of pregnant individuals in custody, their length of stay in custody, any pregnancy outcomes that occur while such individuals are in custody, and whether births took place inside the facility or at a hospital.

Under the bipartisan legislation, states that fail to provide the requested data to the Attorney General would face up to a 10% reduction in Federal funding.

“The humanitarian crisis behind bars in the State of Georgia and across the United States is one of the most extreme civil rights problems happening in the country today,” Sen. Ossoff said. “As part of my sustained work to safeguard human rights, I’m introducing this bipartisan bill to better protect pregnant women in prisons and jails in Georgia and nationwide.”

Ga. senators want mental health money, staffing to address prison deaths

Georgia lawmakers should consider expanding mental health services, staffing and de-escalation training to address deaths and neglect at state prisons, a of lawmakers said last week.

This summer, Sen. Ossoff, as Chair of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights, convened a series of hearings on the abuse of pregnant women in Georgia state prisons and jails.

In July, Sen. Ossoff revealed that his investigation uncovered pervasive abuse of pregnant women in prison, including women who were forced to undergo C-sections against their will, pregnant women who were shackled around their stomachs (despite the practice being widely illegal already), and women who gave birth unassisted while imprisoned.

In August, Sen. Ossoff’s Subcommittee heard testimony from Georgia women, including from a Georgia woman who testified that she was forced to give birth into her underwear at Clayton County Jail, despite testifying that she pleaded for months for medical assistance.

Click here to read the Births in Custody Reporting Act.