Alabama House bill would allow delayed incarceration for pregnant women

The Alabama House Judiciary Committee last week approved a measure that could keep pregnant women convicted of a crime out of prison or jail for up to three months after giving birth.

HB 411, sponsored by Rep. Rolanda Hollis, D-Birmingham, gives a judge the discretion to allow women sentenced to incarceration to have 12 weeks of “pre-incarceration probation” to provide postpartum infant care outside a correctional facility.

“This bill will help both the parents and children,” Hollis said. “Help children by eliminating the stigma of being born in prison, allowing for a short period of postpartum care, (and) allowing for a child’s rearing to begin at home and not in prison. It is safer to give birth at home, and safer for a pregnant woman and for the baby for late-term care to occur outside of prison.”

Current state law does not allow a pregnant individual to defer sentencing until after the birth of the child.

Julia Tutweiler Prison for Women, located in Wetumpka, serves as the intake facility for individuals who are pregnant. According to the Alabama Department of Corrections website, the prison has units dedicated to people who are pregnant.

Currently in state statute, waist and leg restraints are not allowed for people who are pregnant.

The bill, called the Alabama Women’s Child Care Alternatives, Resources, and Education Act, would require officials to screen each woman who tells an official overseeing admission at a prison or jail that she is pregnant.

A person testing positive for a pregnancy would be released on bail if the presiding judge determines the person is not a threat to the public.

The individual would receive credit for the time spent on probation and could have an electronic monitor placed on her ankle without any fines or fees.

The person must report to her probation officer if she loses the child during pregnancy and must surrender herself once the 12 weeks is over or face a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $6,000 fine.

Some Republicans on the committee expressed concerns that the mother would use pregnancy as a means of avoiding incarceration.

“Basically, if a lady went and got pregnant, then she can avoid jail time?” Rep. Tim Wadsworth, R-Arley asked Hollis.

Hollis denied that, saying the person would be on probation during the time she was giving birth and providing postpartum care to the infant.

“If the judge sentenced someone to jail or custody in a jail or prison, then it does take that time away,” said Rep. Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster. “At the end of the day, I completely understand the spirit in which that is intended, but it does take away from the actual time in incarceration. It is more of a probation and monitoring and not incarceration.”

The bill passed the committee on a voice vote and moves to the Alabama House of Representatives. The legislation needs four more legislative days to pass. There are eight days left in the 2024 session.