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= Todaro v. Ward ( 1977) = Todaro V. Ward was a court case that raised the issue of the women's access to health care while in prison. The case involved Louise Todaro ( Plaintiffs) versus Benjamin Ward, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Correctional Services ( defendants) and was brought forward in April of 1977. One of the main issues presented during this case was the lack of access to reproductive health care for women. Black women face incarceration at a higher rate than white women, and face more negligence when it comes to health care both in the general public and while in prison. As discussed in the Reproductive Health section of this page, Todaro v. Ward mandated prisons to provide necessary healthcare for women. Studies have been created to take into account mental health as a means of constitutional medical care that inmates are entitled to. Research has found that the mental health care services needed outweigh the actual services provided to individuals.

Case Details
Todaro v. Ward case was centered around the Bedford Hills Prison which is located in Bedford Hills, New York and whose population consisted of all female inmates. The hospital for the prison was primarily worked by nurses and part time physicians but there was also a shortage of nurses which limited the coverage that the hospital had. This minimized the quality of health care that inmates were able to receive. Representative of the plaintiffs in Bedford Hills brought forward information of low staff, patient negligence, and lack of quality during the case. Although the court ruled that the health care provided in Bedford Hills was not as "inadequate as other prisons", it did require the prison to improve their standards in regards to the concerns made and to improve the management of their medical logs. The case resulted District Attorney, Robert J. Ward executing a mandatory order of better record keeping for individuals in the Bedford Hills Prison with a follow up.The key result of the Todaro v. Ward case is that it ruled that the lack of health care offered to female inmates violated the Eighth Amendment of the constitution that protects individuals against cruel and unusual punishment.

Reproductive Health
Women's prisons lack adequate health care, including access to reproductive health care which can be due to prisons being built for men. One example presented during the Todaro v. Ward case was that of Theresa Durante who did not receive proper reproductive health when she informed the nurse during her initial exam that she had extended periods with heavy clotting. She was taken to Bedford Hills Prison in July of 1974 but did not receive attention from a gynecologist until October of that year. Todaro v. Ward required that prisons provide the medical care needed for pregnant women who may enter the facility already pregnant or who may become pregnant while in prison. Todaro v. Ward is important to discuss in this class because Black women are more likely to suffer from medical conditions that may be aggravated by pregnancy and die in higher numbers due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Black women are also twice as likely to be incarcerated as opposed to their white counterparts.

Mental Health
Todaro v. Ward also affected the push for mental health services because it ruled it unconstitutional to deny individuals health care services while in prison. The Todaro v. Ward case has impacted the research done on the availability of mental health treatment in women prisons. Incarcerated women often go into prison with preexisting mental health disorders, such as bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression which require mental health services. Todaro v. Ward did not only serve to get women reproductive health care, but health care services that were much broader than general medical care. It is important to discuss mental health services offered to women in jail as part of Black feminist thought because feminism is about the wellbeing and equality of all individuals regardless of gender and race. Research done in 2011-2012, by U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, shows that prisoners and jail inmates who self reported having mental health disorders was high in the 30 days prior to the survey done within the study. The study was done specifically by Bronson, Jennifer who has her Ph.D. and is a BJS Statistician as well as Berzofsky, Marcus who has his Dr. P.H. and works with RTI International both individuals who have experience with studies. Study should be taken into account when discussing mental health and mental health care services as credible because it was done by the U.S. Department of Justice while investigating mental health care services in prisons.

Jurisprudence
This case has been used to support other cases in which women have fought for their right to procreate while in prison through artificial insemination or through other means by the warden's approval based off of certain requirements. This was seen in Turner v. Safley, in which Todaro v. Ward was used to support a women's right to be given the medical care and protection needed while in prison and pregnant. Other cases such as Ruiz v. Estelle in which Texas Department of Corrections was being investigated for overcrowding and other abuses used Todaro v. Ward to support the arguments presented by the defendants. Todaro v. Ward was used to support the argument that the overcrowding occurring in Texas correctional centers was against health care rights because often times prisoners would get sick with limited medical access.

Activism
There is still much activism occurring around health care for incarcerated women in the United States. There are websites such as prisonactivist.org that provides resources for individuals in prison with a focus around women. One organization that is still organizing around women's reproductive rights is the American Civil Liberties Union that provides women with information and aid for better care when pregnant. Although Todaro v. Ward occured in the late 1970's, there is still organization around improving incarcerated women's health care rights that builds off the results of Todaro v. Ward. California Coalition for Women Prisoners is another social rights activist group with members both inside and outside of prisons that work to improve incarcerated women's rights.

Similar Pages
Reproductive health care for incarcerated women in the United states

Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women

Incarceration of women in the United States

Organizations
American Medical Association

American Correctional Association

American Public Health Association

American Civil Liberties Union

Biographical Links
Robert J. Ward