It’s illegal in Pennsylvania to shackle and restrain most pregnant people who are incarcerated, but you wouldn’t know that from the horrific abuse Nicole Lane endured during her pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum recovery while incarcerated at Washington County Correctional Facility (WCCF).
On June 17, 2026, WLP and the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project (PILP) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on behalf of Ms. Lane. Our complaint asserts that the actions taken against Ms. Lane violate both Pennsylvania law, federal law, and the U.S. Constitution.
“What happened to me while incarcerated at WCCF was one of the worst experiences of my life. I thought my baby or I were going to die alone on the floor of a jail cell,” says Ms. Lane. “I am bringing this lawsuit so that no other pregnant person incarcerated at WCCF or under the supervision of the Washington County Sheriff’s Department ever has to go through what I went through.”
Ms. Lane was already experiencing serious pregnancy complications when WCCF denied her necessary prenatal care and nutrition and exposed her to excessive heat. At 38 weeks pregnant, WCCF deserted Ms. Lane in an unmonitored cell for over 24 hours while she suffered from severe preeclampsia – a life-threatening condition.
Once finally transferred to UPMC-Magee Women’s Hospital, Washington County Sheriffs shackled Ms. Lane, a non-violent offender, to a hospital bed for hours of unmedicated labor and for five days afterward.
Ms. Lane was refused an emergency contact and threatened with hospital transfer if anyone visited her. While handcuffed and holding her newborn daughter in bed, a defendant-sheriff threw her breast-milk pump on the floor, threatened to “take away” her baby, and screamed that she had no human rights. After returning to WCCF, Ms. Lane was denied postpartum care and medication necessary to treat substance use disorder.
WLP helped pass the 2010 law that made shackling pregnant people illegal in Pennsylvania. We have filed a previous complaint related to failure of enforcement, and we will continue to demand justice and to defend the rights, health, and dignity of pregnant people who are incarcerated.
Thank you for standing with us.
