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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | August 9, 2021 02:35 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Angel Cruz |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Dignity for incarcerated Pregnant and Postpartum Individuals |
| Within our criminal justice system, prisoners and detainees are frequently subject to body cavity searches to avoid dangerous substances and objects from entering the facility. All intimate body searches can be degrading, even humiliating, due to their intrusive nature. For pregnant and postpartum inmates, in particular, body cavity searches can cause harm if carried out by a correctional employee without medical training. While it is sometimes necessary to conduct invasive searches of these vulnerable individuals – they should only be performed by trained and authorized health care professionals. For these reasons, I will be introducing legislation to prohibit all body cavity searches of pregnant and postpartum inmates unless performed by a licensed medical professional. A correctional employee may conduct an invasive search only if there is a reasonable belief that the pregnant or postpartum inmate is concealing contraband that presents an immediate threat of harm to themselves, the unborn child, staff, or other inmates. In these instances, the correctional employee must prepare a written report within 72 hours of the search detailing reasons why a search was conducted and list any contraband if found. Mandating that only licensed medical professionals may conduct these invasive procedures will ensure greater care and safety for our incarcerated pregnant and postpartum population. This legislation will also provide a method to track compliance with the law and detect patterns of unwarranted searches among Commonwealth jails and prisons. I ask that you join me in supporting this legislation to protect Pennsylvanians against adverse pregnancy and postpartum outcomes within our correctional systems. |
Introduced as HB1859