Senator pushes national ban on shackling pregnant inmates during delivery

A federal inquiry into the use of restraints on pregnant prisoners has prompted independent senator Lidia Thorpe to table a private member’s bill that would prohibit shackling during childbirth nationwide. Current state and territory laws permit restraints only as a “last resort,” but activists say the practice persists, with women described as cuffed to hospital beds and chained together. Testimonies from former inmates, including founder of Project:herSELF Tahlia Isaac and Sisters Inside chief Debbie Kilroy, detail the psychological and physical harm inflicted.

The bill highlights the 2019 case of Heather Calgaret, who gave birth shackled in Victoria and later died in custody, a death the coroner linked to the removal of her baby. Organizations such as the National Justice Project and the Australian College of Midwives argue the practice violates human-rights norms and the UN Bangkok Rules, which forbid restraints on women in labour. If passed, the legislation would supersede existing exemptions and aim to end what advocates call state violence against vulnerable incarcerated mothers.