Mass NOW celebrates the passage of the Anti-Shackling Bill

Governor Patrick signed the bill into law this afternoon

Boston– The Massachusetts Chapter of the National Organization for Women (Mass NOW) applauds the signing of the “Act Relative to Prevent Shackling and Promote Safe Pregnancies for Female Inmates” into law today as a victory for women and families in Massachusetts.

This law establishes minimum standards for the treatment and medical care of incarcerated women, promotes safe and healthy pregnancy outcomes, prohibits shackling of women during childbirth, and ensures that release planning includes child custody and basic family planning information and services.

As a core member of the Massachusetts Anti-Shackling coalition, Mass NOW joins our partner organizations to commend the leadership of the Bill’s co-sponsors, Representative Kay Khan and State Senator Karen Spilka, for their tireless leadership to make sure every woman, regardless of her status in life, receives the dignity and respect she deserves.

“In a victory for Massachusetts women and families, we have become the 19^th state to outlaw this cruel and inhumane practice,” said Katie Hayden, Policy and Operations Manager for Mass NOW. “Mass Now has been vigilantly working to pass this bill for more than eight years, participating in various coalitions over that time since Rep. Khan started filing versions of this bill in 2001. The success of our efforts to pass the Anti-Shackling bill belongs to the activists, coalition members, and inmates who stood up and joined their voices to make it clear that this bill was a priority and this practice was unacceptable.”

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The Mass NOW INC is excited to announce that the Healthy Youth Act has passed in the State House!

To learn more about the Healthy Youth Act and other Mass NOW supported legislation, click here!

For getting a higher minimum wage on the ballot!

Join us on December 8th at 12:30pm to elect our board members, hear about out current campaigns, and contribute to our plans for next year.  Location is TBD, all are welcome. To RSVP, send an e-mail to engagement@massnow.org.

Women are more likely to live in poverty than men.  Single-mother families face high poverty rates, often because of the lower wages earned by women in these families.