Pregnant Woman Left Shackled And Bleeding For Hours–Jailers Didn’t Believe She Was In Labor

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Megon Riedel: Image Via Missouri Department of Corrections

Megon Riedel is suing three Jackson County, Missouri, jailers for cruel and unusual punishment as the result of an incident which occurred in 2012 when she was 39 weeks pregnant.

During that incident, Riedel alleges that jailers accused her of lying about feeling contractions and then threw her into the back of a police van for a 200+ mile transport while she was in labor. Riedel was shackled and chained. She also says she was bleeding, vomiting, and pleading for help.

According to documents filed as part of the suit, Riedel was in the early stages of labor and a doctor had informed jail staff that she was a high-risk pregnancy. Jailers were told they needed to have a plan in place because Riedel might require immediate medical assistance. The doctor’s orders were ignored and Riedel went into labor the next morning.

On the morning of October 5, 2012, Riedel began bleeding vaginally and experiencing contractions, but jail staff did not believe her. Riedel says a male nurse came to her cell, examined her, and told her she was lying.

Then, rather than providing her medical care, guards came and ordered Riedel pack up her things, forced her to walk to a transport van without any help, and then transported her to another prison. Jailers allegedly ordered Riedel to “hurry up” as she packed her belongings.

During the long trip to another facility on the other side of the state, Riedel says she begged the driver to take her to a hospital:

“I was hurting, I was contracting, I was bleeding, I was scared, I was alone.”

At the new jail, staff there did finally call for an ambulance and Riedel was rushed to a hospital where she gave birth to a baby boy. Riedel recalls:

“He had his umbilical cord wrapped around him three times, if I would’ve had him on the bus I don’t know if he would’ve made it.”

Riedel’s attorney, Anthony Rothert, noted:

“Shackling and chaining a pregnant prisoner while she is in labor violates the Constitution, and transporting her across Missouri in shackles and chains is beyond callous, not only is it cruel and unusual punishment, it jeopardizes the health of both mother and baby.”

In her lawsuit, Riedel is seeking punitive damages for constitutional violations, negligence, failure to train and supervise, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Featured image by Pixabay, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.