Res 1722-2021

By Council Members D. Diaz, Louis and Dromm Whereas, H.R. 948, also known as the Justice for Incarcerated Moms Act of 2021, was introduced in the United States (U.S.) House of Representatives by Representative Ayanna Pressley in February 2021 to improve maternal health outcomes for mothers in federal and state prison and local jails; and Whereas, A 2016-2017 John Hopkins study of 22 state and federal prisons revealed that nearly 1400 imprisoned women were pregnant at the time of intake, while no mandatory standards of care for pregnant women in U.S. prisons exist; and Whereas, New York City has federal and state prisons and a local jail that incarcerate women; and Whereas, Poor reproductive healthcare has been a longstanding concern for women incarcerated in New York and a 2015 report from the Correctional Association of New York found that reproductive healthcare for women in New York State prisons was woefully substandard, with women routinely facing poor-quality care and assaults on their basic human dignity and reproductive rights; and Whereas, H.R. 948 would, if passed, help to improve maternal health outcomes for incarcerated women by tying federal funding eligibility to states that enact anti-shackling laws; providing funding for programs to create maternal health programs for incarcerated individuals, such as access to doulas, healthy food and nutrition, mental health and substance use counseling; as well as providing funding for states and localities to set up primary caretaker diversion programs as alternatives to incarceration for pregnant individuals and primary caretakers of minor children; and conduct a comprehensive study to understand the scope of the maternal and infant health crisis among incarcerated individuals; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the United States Congress to pass, and the President to sign, H.R. 948, the Justice for Incarcerated Moms Act of 2021. LS #17814 10/4/2021 2:55 PM M.T.