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Can a pregnant woman be put in jail?

Let's say a woman commits a crime and is sentenced to jail. She finds out that she is pregnant shortly before her sentencing. What happens? Does she go in jail and carry the baby to term while in prison? What happens to the baby once born? Does she retain any maternal rights?

22 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    the woman carries the baby and delivers it, then it is taken from her and either the family will take over or it gets put in foster care.

  • Yes a women can go to jail if she is pregnant and when the baby is born it will either go directly to family or foster care but their are some prisons that have a system in which the mother can keep the baby in a special wing of the prison until the child is a year old then it has to be taken to foster care or with family

  • 1 decade ago

    YES a pregnant woman can and will be sent to jail. She will serve her sentence, just as if she wasn't pregnant. She will get pre-natal treatment she needs and give birth in the prison facility if it is equipped to do so, or she will be transported to a hospital for the birth and then returned to the prison when she is discharged from the hospital.When the baby is born the mother will designate a person, likely a family member, to keep the baby for her until she is released, if there is no one, then the baby will go into foster care. She does retain maternal rights, unless she relinquishes them herself.

  • 1 decade ago

    It depends on the state. Usually the woman is setn to jail regardless unless she has some other health issue, they she is put in a secured medical facilty. AFTER the child is born, some prisons have facilities for child care, but most often the child is placed with a realtive, or in foster care if no relative is availble, until the mother is released (unles she is in jail for a child related crime, then she has no contact with the child at all).

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  • 1 decade ago

    She goes to jail still and she has her baby in prison and then once its born she either can give it up for adoption or a family member till she gets out or foster care and she would get the baby once she is out and has cleaned up her act

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    She can be jailed in any country. However it depends on the country/state on whether she can keep the child with her or retain maternal rights.

    Here (Oz) she keeps the baby with her for at least 12 months.

    The baby then goes to the family or to foster care.

  • 1 decade ago

    yea she will go to jail and if she is still in jail when the baby is born then the baby will either go to foster care or some jails have it where the mothers can spend time with the baby for a couple of months but eventually will have to go to foster care or the nearest relative

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    She can be put in jail but is usually confined to a solitary living situation. During labor, she is escorted to a hospital and guarded during the delivery. Once the baby is born, it is either placed with family or in foster care. She doesn't lose her parental rights alltogether but has to go through a lot of legal barriers to obtain custody of her child again. It usually starts with visitation while on probation. A lot of women lose their babies in prison due to miscarriage from violence.

  • Jessy
    Lv 5
    1 decade ago

    yes, there are many pregnant women in prison and carry their baby to term and likely will get better care in prison than they would on the outside of prison or jail. i dont know however what happens to the baby once he/she is born.

  • my son had a girlfriend that was pregnant when she was arrested for drug use she spent her pregnancy in solitary confinement and had her baby in jail the baby was taken from her and placed in a foster home she is now serving time in state jail and wont be released on parole until next year her rights were terminated from this child and he is being adopted out its sad when this happens but yes even if you are pregnant you will still serve your time have a good day

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Pregnant women go to jail all the time!

    What happens to the baby depends on what municipality governs the execution of her sentence.

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