Prohibits the use of restraints on incarcerated individuals during labor, absent extraordinary circumstances, and on pregnant persons during a custodial interrogation.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1670
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 10, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, FORREST, CRUZ, GLICK, SEAWRIGHT,
REYES, DAVILA, LUCAS, SIMON, SHIMSKY, LEVENBERG, TAPIA, SIMONE,
EPSTEIN, RAGA, BURDICK -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Correction
AN ACT to amend the correction law and the executive law, in relation to
prohibiting the use of restraints on incarcerated individuals during
labor, absent extraordinary circumstances, and on pregnant persons
during a custodial interrogation
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 611 of the correction law, as
2 amended by chapter 17 of the laws of 2016, paragraph (c) as separately
3 amended by chapters 322 and 621 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read
4 as follows:
5 1. (a) If a [woman] person confined in any institution or local
6 correctional facility [be] is pregnant and about to give birth to a
7 child, the superintendent or sheriff in charge of such institution or
8 facility, a reasonable time before the anticipated birth of such child,
9 shall cause such [woman] person to be removed from such institution or
10 facility and provided with comfortable accommodations, maintenance and
11 medical care elsewhere, under such supervision and safeguards to prevent
12 [her] their escape from custody as the superintendent or sheriff or [his
13 or her] their designee may determine. No restraints of any kind shall
14 be used during transport of such [woman] person, a [woman] person who is
15 known to be pregnant by correctional personnel or personnel providing
16 medical services to the institution or local correctional facility, or a
17 [woman] person within eight weeks after delivery or pregnancy outcome,
18 absent extraordinary circumstances in which[:
19 i. the superintendent or sheriff or his or her designee in consulta-
20 tion with the medical professional responsible for the institution has
21 made an individualized determination that restraints are necessary to
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04205-01-5
A. 1670 2
1 prevent such woman from injuring herself or medical or correctional
2 personnel or others and cannot reasonably be restrained by other means,
3 including the use of additional personnel; or
4 ii.], during transport the correctional personnel directly responsible
5 for the transport of such a [woman] person determine that an emergency
6 has arisen in which restraints are necessary because the [woman] person
7 poses an immediate risk of serious injury to [herself] themself or
8 medical or correctional personnel or others and cannot reasonably be
9 restrained by other means.
10 (b) If a determination has been made pursuant to [subparagraph i or ii
11 of] paragraph (a) of this subdivision that extraordinary circumstances
12 exist then restraints shall be limited to wrist restraints in front of
13 the body. The superintendent or sheriff or [his or her] their designee
14 [pursuant to subparagraph i of paragraph (a) of this subdivision] or
15 correctional personnel pursuant to [subparagraph ii of] paragraph (a) of
16 this subdivision shall document in writing the facts upon which the
17 finding of extraordinary circumstances were based within five days of
18 the use of such restraints and shall also document the type of
19 restraints used and the length of time such restraints were used.
20 (c) No restraints of any kind shall be used when such [woman] person
21 is in labor, admitted to a hospital[, institution] or [clinic] medical
22 facility for delivery, or recovering after giving birth. Any such
23 personnel as may be necessary to supervise the [woman] person during
24 transport to and from and during [her] their stay at the hospital,
25 institution or clinic shall be provided to ensure adequate care[,] and
26 custody [and control] of the [woman, except that no] person.
27 (i) No correctional staff shall be present [in the delivery room]
28 during the birth of a baby or during counseling and medical care related
29 to the pregnancy and all pregnancy outcomes including abortion, miscar-
30 riage, and stillbirth unless requested by the medical staff [supervis-
31 ing] providing such [delivery] care or by the [woman giving birth]
32 person receiving such care.
33 (ii) The [woman] person shall be permitted to have at least one
34 support person of [her] their choosing accompany [her in the delivery
35 room and when such woman is in labor and recovering after giving birth]
36 them to a hospital or medical facility for labor, birth, and counseling
37 and medical care related to pregnancy and all pregnancy outcomes includ-
38 ing abortion, miscarriage and stillbirth and shall be permitted to
39 remain with such support person for the duration of their stay in the
40 hospital or medical facility subject to the visitation rules of that
41 hospital or medical facility. A support person shall not need to have
42 visited the [woman] person at a correctional facility prior to serving
43 as a support person[. A person] and may not be denied eligibility to
44 serve as a support person solely on the basis of a past criminal
45 conviction or that such support person is on probation, conditional
46 release, parole or post release supervision. Any decision by an [agency]
47 institution or local correctional facility to deny a [woman's] request
48 [to have] for a specific support person [serve as a support person]
49 shall be made with reasons specified in writing within five days of
50 [her] the request and promptly provided to the [woman] person making
51 the request. A support person shall be notified immediately after such
52 [woman] person goes into labor, [or immediately after a caesarean] is
53 scheduled for labor induction or a cesarean section [or termination], is
54 identified as having a miscarriage or stillbirth, or is scheduled for
55 medical care for any pregnancy outcome, including abortion, miscarriage,
56 and stillbirth. If available, a doula[, midwife] or other birthing
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1 support specialist may also assist during labor [and], delivery [in
2 addition to at least one support person of the woman's choosing. Any
3 woman confined in a state or local correctional facility shall receive
4 notice in writing in a language and manner understandable to her about
5 the requirements of this section upon her admission to such state or
6 local correctional facility and again when she is known to be pregnant.
7 The superintendent or sheriff shall publish notice of the requirements
8 of this section in prominent locations where medical care is provided],
9 post-partum recovery, and during medical care for and recovery from any
10 other pregnancy outcome including abortion, miscarriage, and stillbirth.
11 The superintendent or sheriff or [his or her] their designee shall cause
12 such [woman] person to be subject to return to such institution or local
13 correctional facility as soon after the birth of [her] their child as
14 the state of [her] their health will permit as determined by the medical
15 professional responsible for the care of such [woman] person. [If such
16 woman is confined in a local correctional facility, the expense of such
17 accommodation, maintenance and medical care shall be paid by such woman
18 or her relatives or from any available funds of the local correctional
19 facility and if not available from such sources, shall be a charge upon
20 the county, city or town in which is located the court from which such
21 incarcerated individual was committed to such local correctional facili-
22 ty. If such woman is confined in any institution under the control of
23 the department, the expense of such accommodation, maintenance and
24 medical care shall be paid by such woman or her relatives and if not
25 available from such sources, such maintenance and medical care shall be
26 paid by the state. In cases where payment of such accommodations, main-
27 tenance and medical care is assumed by the county, city or town from
28 which such incarcerated individual was committed the payor shall make
29 payment by issuing payment instrument in favor of the agency or individ-
30 ual that provided such accommodations and services, after certification
31 has been made by the head of the institution to which the incarcerated
32 individual was legally confined, that the charges for such accommo-
33 dations, maintenance and medical care were necessary and are just, and
34 that the institution has no available funds for such purpose.]
35 (d) Any [woman] person confined in an institution or local correction-
36 al facility shall receive notice in writing in a language and manner
37 understandable to [her] them about the requirements of this section upon
38 [her] their admission to an institution or local correctional facility
39 and again when [she is] they are known to be pregnant. The superinten-
40 dent or sheriff shall publish notice of the requirements of this section
41 in prominent locations where medical care is provided. The department
42 and the sheriff shall provide annual training on provisions of this
43 section to all correctional personnel who are involved in the transpor-
44 tation, supervision or medical care of incarcerated [women] persons.
45 (e) Force against a pregnant person shall not be used, except as a
46 last resort, and then only in situations in which the staff member
47 reasonably believes that force is necessary to protect themselves, the
48 incarcerated individual, or a use of physical force by the individual
49 that could cause death or serious physical injury. The use of spit
50 masks, chemical agents, tasers, weapons, chokeholds or blows to the body
51 against a pregnant person or any person within eight weeks after deliv-
52 ery or pregnancy outcome shall be strictly prohibited.
53 (f) The department shall report annually to the governor, the tempo-
54 rary president of the senate, the minority leader of the senate, the
55 speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the assembly, the chair-
56 person of the senate crime victims, crime and correction committee and
A. 1670 4
1 the chairperson of the assembly correction committee concerning every
2 use of restraints and force on a [woman] person under this section,
3 including the reason such restraint was used, the type of restraint used
4 and the length of time such restraint was used pursuant to paragraph (b)
5 of this subdivision, but shall exclude individual identifying informa-
6 tion. The sheriff of each county shall report, in a form and manner
7 prescribed by the commission, every use of restraints on a [woman]
8 person under this section, including the reason such restraint was used,
9 reason such force was used, the type of restraint used and the length of
10 time such restraint was used pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivi-
11 sion, the type of force used and the length of time such force was used
12 pursuant to paragraph (e) of this subdivision, annually to the commis-
13 sion. The commission shall include such information in its annual report
14 pursuant to section forty-five of this chapter, but shall exclude iden-
15 tifying information from such report. Reports required by this section
16 shall be posted on the websites maintained by the department and the
17 commission.
18 § 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 837-y to
19 read as follows:
20 § 837-y. Use of restraints on pregnant and post-pregnant persons by
21 law enforcement. Where a person who is known to be pregnant, in labor
22 or delivery, or twelve weeks post-pregnancy is in the custody of law
23 enforcement, subject to custodial interrogation, or has their freedom of
24 action restricted by law enforcement in any significant way, the use of
25 restraints of any kind by law enforcement personnel shall be prohibited.
26 The provisions of this section shall at minimum apply to police
27 stations, holding facilities for prisoners, prosecutors' offices,
28 medical areas and hospitals, and any facility where persons are held in
29 detention in connection with criminal or juvenile delinquency charges
30 that have been or may be filed against them, as well as during transfer
31 to and from such locations. A person's disclosure of their status shall
32 serve as sufficient notice to law enforcement under this provision.
33 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
