When talking about positive changes for women in Texas prisons, it can be tricky to celebrate the good. Why? Because terrible conditions are the baseline. That said, the Texas Senate recently
passed a bill that would offer some improvements for people who menstruate and pregnant people. The bill is
House Bill 650, and was actually authored by Republican state Rep. James White. It’s a bipartisan effort.
If the bill becomes law, it’ll cover a few important grounds: Restraints can no longer be used on pregnant people, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice must provide people in state prisons with both more and better quality menstrual products, and a mandate for people to remain with their newborns 72 hours after giving birth, if they choose to. As of today, there is no established standard for how long a parent can stay with their infant after birth.
Mind you, the fact that these basic humanities aren’t already allowed is sickening.
Some states have already banned the use of shackles on pregnant people in state prisons, including Illinois, New York, and California. As of now, Texas already bans the use of shackles while a pregnant person is actually in labor, and immediately after the birth.
Let’s dig deeper into some of the specifics of the bill.
Menstruating have reported that the tampons provided to them are uncomfortable and that they aren’t provided with enough sanitary pads to last their cycle, as reported by the Texas Tribune. The bill would require that both regular and large sized pads with wings, as well as large sized tampons, would be available. Up to 10 free menstrual products would be available each day.
Interestingly, correctional officers would also have to complete training related specifically to pregnant inmates. This would include both their mental and physical care. The bill would also require those pregnant inmates to attend programming on parenting and prenatal care.
On the nationwide scale, there are roughly 12,000 pregnant inmates in jails or prisons each year, as estimated by the American Civil Liberties Union. When looking at Texas specifically, there were about 12,500 incarcerated women in 2016. More than 60 percent of these people were there for nonviolent offenses, as noted by Refinery29.
Anyone remember Richard Pickett, the Maine Republican who said that providing free menstrual products would turn prisons into country clubs? Yeah. It’s fantastic that some lawmakers, like Pickett, from both sides are working together to make living conditions better for people in jails and prisons. But as of now, conditions are overall horrendous. These celebrations come with a grain of salt, and—hopefully—a reminder that there’s more work yet to come.
Oh—And the Texas bill needs to be signed by Governor Greg Abbott before it becomes a law.