Utah bill would limit shackling of postpartum women in prison and jails

Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Riverton, speaks in favor of S.B. 1011, which would set 3 tests to assess congressional maps, in the House Chamber during a special legislative session at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

A state lawmaker behind a series of changes to improve the treatment of expecting and new moms while they’re behind bars — and after they’re released — says they are paying off. 

The proof: 14 mothers have been paroled early, 11 were “united permanently” with their children and the vast majority have graduated from a substance use treatment program, Rep. Candice Pierucci told lawmakers on a judiciary panel Tuesday at the state Capitol. She said the milestones also represent $200,000 in taxpayer dollars saved for all the days those moms were not incarcerated. 

“It’s really exciting,” said Pierucci, R-Herriman. 

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Now she is following up with a proposal that she says will tie a bow on earlier steps over the last three years, such as ending shackling of pregnant women and a diversion initiative focused on allowing supervised release of new moms and their babies.

She’s sponsoring HB122, prohibiting restraint of women within 12 weeks of childbirth, with an exception for specific security risks. During the same three-month period, the bill would also provide those moms access to postpartum health care and to social workers who can help arrange child care and set a plan for reunification. (Currently, the length of postpartum care is determined by a doctor and access to a social worker is guaranteed for only six weeks). 

“I think we talk about being a pro-life state, and this is one of those things that we can do to show that, in having this balance of justice and mercy,” Pierucci said. 

In 2019, Utah joined a wave of states passing laws to end shackling of inmates during childbirth. Several women spoke at the time of wearing chains while in labor, a practice advocates called inhumane. 

This year’s measure would also require Utah’s prison and jails to track numbers of pregnant women in their custody, along with mothers of children under 18. Right now, the information is anecdotal, Pierucci said. 

The bill won unanimous support from the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee. No one at the public hearing Tuesday spoke against it. 

Retired Utah pediatrician Bill Cosgrove praised the proposal, saying an expectant mother’s fears and emotional responses affect the fetus.

“We have to consider the second prisoner — the child that’s being carried by the mother — who obviously is also incarcerated, and who is clearly innocent of any crimes,” Cosgrove said. 

The bill has the support of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, as well as the Utah Defense Lawyers Association and the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association. It now advances to the full Senate for consideration.

Correction: Rep. Candice Pierucci’s last name was misspelled in a previous version of this story.

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