Pregnant? Don't expect special treatment
Will the inhumanity never end?
I have had the opportunity to work with Esther, a woman who just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl this past week. Congratulations!
Watching Esther’s body grow along with her baby has been a joy, a reminder of my pregnancies, and a reminder of the kindnesses of people during pregnancy.
As soon as the pregnancy is known and/or obvious, people start checking in with the pregnant woman — “how are you feeling? How far along? When are you due? Here....take my seat.”
Americans handle pregnant women with “kid gloves”. Unless you happen to be undocumented and a target of the Trump Administration.
Last week, as the newborn baby was arriving into our world, the Trump Administration unveiled the official new ICE policy on pregnant women. The new policy STOPS the practice of Homeland Security releasing pregnant women from Detention.
Imagine if your daughter is 8 months pregnant and in a family detention facility on the southern border of the U.S. There are long lines to obtain the scant medical treatment that is available in the detention facility. Every time she actually sees a doctor, no matter the condition she is in, she is given a Tylenol (the prison doctor's solution to every ailment). Guards watch her every move. She shares a room with 3-4 other people, and there is NEVER a quiet moment. Three to four hours a day, she sits in a large room, waiting for an opportunity to speak with one of the free volunteer lawyers who may be able to help her win release from this prison. Anxiety and fear are real for this young mother. Fear that she will be returned to a Country where she may be persecuted. Fear that she will have to give birth in prison, shackled to a bed during the delivery.
The new policy is particularly cruel, given that our government is NOT required to detain every person who arrives at the border. DHS is to detain those who are deemed a flight risk or a danger to the community.
So, expectant mothers...what can you EXPECT? Inhumane treatment and a baby born in a detention facility.
If this policy bothers you, please leave your comments on the DHS comment line at 202-282-8495 or send them your comments at: https://www.dhs.gov/give-feedback.
Do not EXPECT a reply or a change in this inhumane policy.
