Alabama woman sues alleging she gave birth on prison floor as guards watched | Alabama

An Alabama woman has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that her and her young daughter’s civil rights were violated when prison staff where she was incarcerated allegedly left her to work alone for more than a day.

Tiffany McElroy, now 28, was sent to a prison in Alabama in May 2024. Three days after she arrived, weeks before she was expected to give birth, she said she felt her water breaking.

McElroy, who was detained on charges stemming from her alleged substance use during pregnancy, later discovered she was experiencing a pregnancy complication that could progress to sepsis. According to the lawsuit, she notified a guard that her water had broken and believed she would be taken to the hospital for treatment.

Instead, the complaint states, another guard checking on him later that morning accused him of wetting the bed and instructed him to return to his cell. The lawsuit states that McElroy repeatedly asked prison staff to call 911 over the next 24 hours, but other inmates never did, although they banged on cell windows and tables asking for help.

The lawsuit, filed by Pregnancy Justice on behalf of McElroy and her daughter, also alleges that medical staff gave her only diapers and Tylenol while she endured severe pain and feared for her baby’s safety.

While prison guards watched, another inmate helped McElroy deliver a baby girl who was not breathing when she was born on the prison floor, according to the complaint. The file states that two women in the same stall tried to revive the newborn by removing mucus from his mouth and rubbing him until he finally cried.

The complaint also alleges that after the birth, a guard told the women, “You all should have pushed that damn baby back,” and punished the women in the cell block, prohibited them from going out and attending religious services, and revoked their telephone privileges.

The Houston County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.

“I’m so grateful that my baby and I are here today, and I owe it to the other women because the guards treated me like I was nothing. My body was burning and I was so scared I would never see my other children again. I could barely hold him and couldn’t even breastfeed him,” McElroy said. a statement. “I have nightmares about us both dying and it’s like a part of me died that day. I’m even scared of getting pregnant again. They shouldn’t be allowed to do this to another woman again.”

McElroy said NBC He said he was released last year.

The lawsuit, filed in central Alabama, alleges that the incidents stemmed from a series of failures at the Houston County jail; this includes a system in which local officials focus on cutting costs rather than providing appropriate inmate care. The complaint names 20 defendants, including guards who were on duty at the time of McElroy’s birth, a nurse and the county sheriff who oversees the jail, accusing them of violating his constitutional rights.

Former prison deputy Kathy Youngblood, who is also a defendant in the case, called the incident “barbaric” in an interview. NBC News.

“I tried to help him, but I was told if I helped him I would be fired, so I couldn’t help,” Youngblood said.

Another Alabama woman claiming to be I was forced to give birth A federal civil rights lawsuit filed last year against the county was settled without any medical assistance in the prison shower. Pregnancy Justice, which is also handling this case. in question cited a “disturbing pattern” of inhumane treatment of pregnant women held in the state Endangering the Child with Chemical Substances charges related to alleged drug use.

Previously on Pregnancy Justice to create Alabama has led other states in prosecuting pregnant women on drug-related charges since the U.S. supreme court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022. While states argue that such prosecutions are meant to protect pregnancies, reproductive rights advocates say they are part of a broader pattern of granting fetuses rights that compete with the rights of the people carrying them.