Pregnancy and Prisons

Carolyn Lindsey was four months pregnant when she was incarcerated in a Texas prison for violating the terms of her probation on a drug charge. When she gave birth, Carolyn had a minute to coo at her daughter's tiny face before a prison guard whisked little Desiree Nicole away (Tomaso, "Pregnant Inmates").

Carolyn is part of a disturbing national trend - a rising number of pregnant inmates giving birth in prisons. In 1999, a prison survey conducted for the American Correctional Association found that more than 2,800 babies were born to female inmates in from 1997-1999 (Willing, "Babies Behind Bars").

In federal prison alone, statistics from the Bureau of Justice show that in 1998, the latest year when data is available, there were over 103 pregnant female inmates (ACLU, "Statistics Relating to Women..."). An estimated 13,000 women, typically young and unwed, are pregnant upon incarceration (Tomaso).

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