rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/letter/dignity-for-nevada-incarcerated-women?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-letter-area-dignity-for-nevada-incarcerated-women' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> Advocates for Youth https://actionnetwork.org/groups/advocates-for-youth https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/groups/default_facebook_images/000/009/366/original/Advocates_for_Youth_Logo_-_2019.jpg?1566310076 With women's jail and prison populations rising dramatically in the US ( 525% from 1980 to 2021 ) developing quality, unrestricted care in these systems is imperative to their future. There is a lack of consistent and humane reproductive healthcare for incarcerated people. Many in Nevada women’s jails, prisons, and detention centers are shackled during childbirth, lack access to menstrual products, contraceptives, and abortion. The time is now to update policies in our state to make sure the incarcerated have access to the reproductive care they need and deserve Assembly Bill 292 directs the Nevada Department of Corrections to expand the medical and behavioral health services it gives to people in women’s jails and prisons. This includes access to free menstrual products, required parenting skills training, and annual checkups. Further, the standards for their diet require that food served be deemed necessary to maintain a healthy pregnancy, prenatal vitamins would be provided to all pregnant people, and the bonding period would be a minimum of 72 hours. Ab 292 would provide a free supply of all menstrual hygiene products so no one goes without the necessary tools to support healthy hygiene. Lastly, the bill would create procedures limiting cross-gender searches and the use of restraints on pregnant people. In 2021, the Prison Policy Initiative conducted a 50 state survey that discovered policies which dictate how little money a person must have to qualify for assistance (indigent policies), are very limiting with who they help and the amount of help. Currently in prisons in Nevada, women must pay for tampons unless they are considered indigent and "sanitary napkins" are available at no cost. Considering the average incarcerated person in the US makes less than $1 per hour, having access to pads and tampons becomes regularly weaponized as punishment from facility staff. An unattainable need that is their human right. Imprisonment already imposes destructive forces on maternal-child bonds considering over 60% of incarcerated women are mothers of children under 18, treating these women with care as they navigate a harsh, disparaging system allows for better outcomes upon release. Women in Nevada's prisons must endure a system not built or operating with the specific physical and mental health needs they require. After their time is served, permanent damages to their health is not a prescribed component of the rehabilitative services set out by the state constitution.   Legislators need to hear your voice as they prepare for a vote in the last days of the Nevada Legislature. Send an email to your elected official detailing why they should pass AB 292 and your personal connection or viewpoint to the issue. https://actionnetwork.org/letters/dignity-for-nevada-incarcerated-women