HB253 Summary

• Prohibits custodians from requiring pregnant women (verified in second or third trimester) to squat or cough during strip searches.

• Prohibits all restraints on pregnant women in labor, delivery, or in immediate postpartum period (six weeks following childbirth), except wrist handcuffs in front of body only when compelling grounds exist for threat of harm or substantial flight risk.

• Prohibits vaginal examinations on pregnant women unless prescribed and performed by a licensed health care professional.

• Prohibits placement of pregnant women or postpartum women in solitary confinement, administrative segregation, or solitary medical observation settings.

• Requires pregnant women temporarily held in county jails to be transferred to state penal institutions as expeditiously as possible, with the Department of Corrections and sheriffs making all reasonable efforts to facilitate transfer.