Senator Jon Ossoff has introduced legislation to protect pregnant women who are incarcerated. Ossoff and Louisiana Republican Senator John Kenndy introduced the bipartisan Births in Custody Reporting Act. The measure is meant to strengthen federal oversight of pregnancy care in prisons and jails. It would require states to report statistical information regarding care and outcomes from individuals in custody to the Attorney General.
That information would include the number of pregnant individuals in custody, their length of stay in custody, any pregnancy outcomes that occur while such individuals are in custody, and whether births took place inside the facility or at a hospital.
States that fail to provide the requested data would face up to a 10% reduction in federal funding.