
Imagine having a baby and having your legs shackled during the labor process? That’s exactly what Valerie Nabors is claiming and the former pregnant inmate at North Las Vegas prison files lawsuit
Nabors, a former inmate at North Las Vegas prison says she was forced to wear shackles during labor while giving birth to her 4th child. Her account of what she went through paints a description of a woman who felt she was being tortured during what should have been a happy moment in her life. Them mother of 4 was a prison inmate at Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center (FMWCC) in North Las Vegas.
Nabors served a 12-to-30 month sentence from January 2011 to January 2012 for attempting to steal about $300 worth of casino chips.
She told 13 Action News that officers shackled her legs as she went to the hospital to give birth, even though medical personnel strongly discouraged it.
According to Nevada state law, no restraints of any kind may be used on an inmate who is in labor, delivering her baby or recovering from delivery unless she presents a serious harm to herself or others or presents a substantial flight risk.
Valerie Nabors with her attorney Staci Pratt. Photo source: 13 Actions News
At the hospital, she was given a breast pump which Nabors’ doctor recommended because she was no longer allowed to nurse her daughter. When she returned to FMWCC, the breast pump was confiscated causing her extreme pain. After 12 hours of pain, the pump was returned to her and taken again the next day.
Nabors then sought medical attention because of the pain. She was provided with ACE bandages to wrap her breasts and later developed a clogged milk duct from not using the pump.
Her attorney Staci Pratt, with the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada said, “My hope is that Valerie’s strength and courage will be a vehicle for making sure this does not happen to any other women in Nevada or anywhere else in the United States”
The Nevada Department of Corrections has no comment regarding the lawsuit at this time, a spokesman told ABCNews.com.
The have until July 17 to respond.