Pregnant defendants could get alternatives to incarceration under Colorado bill

A bill recently introduced by Democratic lawmakers at the Colorado Legislature would require courts to consider alternatives for pregnant defendants in order to pursue the best outcome for the pregnant person and their child.

House Bill 23-1187 suggests diverted sentences, deferred judgments or an unaccompanied furlough as possible alternatives to incarceration for pregnant defendants.

“Pregnancy is a time-sensitive process that has many potential outcomes and variations. That time sensitivity doesn’t always fall in line with the criminal justice process. A big purpose of this bill is to help refocus, at least for those who are experiencing pregnancy or the loss of a pregnancy or postpartum, to help figure out how that can align in the criminal justice system,” bill sponsor Rep. Jennifer Bacon, a Denver Democrat and the House assistant majority leader, told a panel of lawmakers during a Wednesday hearing for the bill.

She said pregnancy, the loss of pregnancy and postpartum should be treated as legitimate medical conditions that judges weigh at all points during the criminal justice process.

According to the bill, the judge would need to consider whether a pregnant person is a substantial risk to the public, and whether that substantial risk is larger than the risk of being pregnant while incarcerated.

The bill would also require officials to give people in county jail a pregnancy test if they request one.

If the bill passes, it is unclear how many people this type of policy could affect. There are around 23 new commits who are pregnant each year within the Department of Corrections, according to a nonpartisan state financial analysis of the bill. That only accounts for the prison population, and doesn’t include pregnant people in the state’s jails.

Pam Clifton, the communications coordinator for the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, was four months pregnant when she began a six-year prison sentence in 1998. When she began feeling contractions at the end of her pregnancy, prison staff did not immediately take her to receive medical care.

“I stopped at control, which was across the hall from medical, and I explained my situation to the guard on duty. She told me, ‘Get back to your unit, there are plenty of women down there who know how to birth babies,’” she testified to lawmakers.

Two days into her labor, and after a medical provider at the prison told Clifton she didn’t believe she was in labor, she finally arrived at a hospital. Her daughter had already died during that time — the umbilical cord had wrapped around the infant.

“Losing a baby is a tragic and traumatic event in the best of situations, but in a jail or prison setting where adequate medical care may not be available, it may be even more devastating. The experience of losing a child while incarcerated can be isolating and traumatic, and you feel disconnected from any support,” Clifton said.

The legislation is opposed by the Colorado District Attorney’s Council and the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police.

Along with Bacon, it is sponsored by Democratic Rep. Judy Amabile of Boulder, Sen. Julie Gonzales of Denver and Sen. Rhonda Fields of Aurora.

The bill was approved by the House Judiciary Committee on a 9-4 vote along party lines. It is scheduled to be considered by the entire House of Representatives next week.