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Reproductive Justice for US Prisons
Since 1980, the number of women in prison has tripled, leading to a high incidence of serious health concerns, including HIV, Hepatitis C, and reproductive diseases. The rate of HIV is higher among women prisoners than men prisoners and can be as much as one hundred times higher among prisoners than in the general population, depending on the prison group. The trend towards longer and heavier sentences have also lead to greater health concerns as many prisons offer little accessibility to adequate medical care. Also, prisons are increasingly being built on rural land, isolated from major resources for medical care. Two major areas of concern for reproductive justice in prisons lies in medical neglect in the form of little to no reproductive health care and nonconsensual prison intervention on a woman’s right to reproduce.

Medical Neglect
Women in the criminal justice system tend to come from sectors of society with limited access to health care. Currently, there are little services offered to address this gender specific health disparities in these underserved community. The time spent in prisons provide a unique opportunity to respond to health needs, particularly in reproductive health. A Rhode Island report showed that 84% had been sexually active within 3 months of their arrest while only 28% used contraception. Women in prisons are at a higher risk of experiencing unintended pregnancies. Many of these pregnancies also become high risk due to lack or failure to use prenatal care services and drug use that leads to preterm deliveries, spontaneous abortions, low-birthweight infants, and preeclampsia. Also, many developing fetuses may be exposed to teratogenic medications during treatment as well as alcohol, causing fetal alcohol syndrome. Infants are twice as likely to die when mothers report that their pregnancies are unwanted in the first trimester.

Birth Control
While it is unknown what percentage of incarcerated women engage in unprotected sex prior to incarceration, research has shown that providing emergency contraception may decrease the risk of unintended pregnancies. In a study conducted in San Francisco with women ages 18-44 within 24 hours of arrest, 29% were eligible for emergency contraception. Of these, 48% indicated a willingness to take emergency contraception. 71% responded that they would accept advance supply of emergency contraception upon release. In a study amongst 950 prisons only 70% reported contraception counseling. Another Rhode Island study showed that 77.5% reported a desire to initiate use of birth control while 4.4% of women after four weeks of their release initiated use of contraception. Therefore, provision of contraceptive services to women during incarceration does positively affect the rates of contraception use.

Access to Abortion
A survey presented in Contraception found that 88% claimed there were transportation services for abortion clinics but only 54% claimed that the facility helped arrange appointments. The results from the survey also found a correlation between Republican-dominated state legislatures and severely restricted coverage for abortion.The research concludes that full access isn’t available in all settings and that correctional settings should increase the accessibility of services for women. Proponents of reproductive justice in prisons argue that withholding access to abortions can be seen as a violation of the 8th Amendment, preventing cruel and unusual punishments.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
Research has shown a correlation between the 3.2% increase in women’s prison population and the increase risk of incarcerated women catching an sexually transmitted diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, from another inmate. HIV/AIDS incidences are 3-4 times higher since the growth of prison populations. Many prisons also lack a pre-screening process for incarcerated women. Another survey of 188 women showed that more than half reported a history of gynecological infection, particularly yeast infections. 57.9% of STD cases were found in non-white women. The male condom (74.1%), birth control pills (66.5%), withdrawal (38.9%), and the Depo-Provera injection (24.3%) were the most common methods of contraception.

Human Rights Violations
Prisons have demonstrated high incidents of human rights violations. These include cases of medical neglect and forced sterilization. Often, acts of forced sterilizations have been justified as punishments for imprisoned women. These violations continue to occur due to limited public attention towards cases of prisoner dehumanization and injustice. This leads to greater helplessness as imprisoned women lose say in the treatment of their bodies. For example, prisons often perform forced hysterectomies on imprisoned women. Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights established by the United Nations prohibits, cruel, degrading, inhumane torture. The lifelong effects of forced sterilization as well as the unnecessary suffering due to untreated disease violates these treaties.