By C1 Staff
JACKSON COUNTY, Mo. — A woman who was incarcerated at the time of her pregnancy is suing the county and three correctional officers for driving her across state lines while she was in labor.
The Kansas City Star reports that Megon Riedel claims she was woken in the middle of the night and informed she was being transferred from the Jackson County jail to the state women’s prison in Vandalia.
Riedel said she was having contractions and asked to be transferred to a local hospital instead.
According to her suit, Riedel was twice taken to the Truman Medical Center, where she was diagnosed with a “high risk” pregnancy. Doctors advised jail staff to have a plan in place in case Riedel went into labor.
But, according to the suit, Riedel was placed in shackles and put in a van for transfer just the next day.
Her lawsuit states that she experienced frequent contractions, vaginal bleeding and vomiting.
Upon arrival at the prison in Vandalia, she was sent to a hospital where she delivered her child.
American Civil Liberties Union lawyers are representing Riedel, alleging cruel and unusual punishment, a failure to properly train jail staff and intentional infliction of emotional distress. They seek unspecified damages.
The executive director of the ACLU of Missouri, Jeffrey Mittman, said this incident is “not isolated.”
The county would not comment on pending litigation, and the officers were not named in court documents.