HILL AND REED RECEIVE AWARD FOR SPONSORING AND MOVING IMPORTANT “ANTI-SHACKLING” LEGISLATION
April 29, 2011
CONTACT: ACLU of Florida Media Office, (786) 363-2737 or media@aclufl.org
TALLAHASSEE – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida (ACLUFL) today announced that Senator Tony Hill (D-Jacksonville) and Representative Betty Reed (D-Tampa) received the organization’s “Defender of Freedom” award for the week which ended today, April 29, 2011.
Hill and Reed sponsored similar bills (SB1086 and HB779) which would prohibit any inmate in a Florida corrections facility from being shackled or restrained during childbirth or related medical care.
“Shackling an inmate while she is delivering a child is unnecessary, cruel and creates needless stress on both mother and child,” said Danielle Prendergast, ACLUFL Director of Public Policy. “These bills make the practice illegal in most circumstances and make the ban apply to across the state to local jails as well as State of Florida facilities.”
The Senate Bill (1086) passed the Senate today on a 39-0 vote and the House bill is scheduled to be heard on the floor. The bills allow pregnant inmates to be restrained for legitimate safety concerns in which case a full, public report must be made but otherwise establishes inmates should remain unshackled during childbirth as well as related pre and post delivery medical care.
“There are basic human rights and decency associated with childbirth and the State of Florida should always be on the side of protecting those rights. We are proud to offer and support this bill to make that policy clear and end this pointless, unsafe and dehumanizing practice in Florida,” Rep. Reed said.
“Today in the State of Florida, Representative Betty Reed and I, along with our colleagues in the Senate voted to rise above an inhumane policy to a policy of decency and human rights,” stated Senator Hill. “We have joined other states across the country by passing legislation (SB 1086 & HB 779) that ensures the rights of incarcerated pregnant women are protected especially during childbirth.”
“Recognizing the basic humanity of all inmates and taking action to protect women and children is an important step forward,” said Prendergast.
The Defender of Freedom award is presented weekly during the Florida Legislative Session to the lawmaker or other leader who displays public courage and defends constitutional freedoms in public policy. Previous winners were Reps. Jeff Clemens (D-Lake Worth) and Alan Williams (D-Tallahassee), Sen. Jack Latvala (R-St. Petersburg), Rep. Carlos Trujillo (R-Miami), Senator Mike Bennett (R-Bradenton), Rep. Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) and Rep. Scott Randolph (D-Orlando) and the entire Florida Senate.
# # #
About the ACLU of Florida
The ACLU of Florida is freedom's watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend individual rights and personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For additional information, visit our web site at: www.aclufl.org.