A lawsuit filed this week says that a Kentucky woman who was being held alone before her trial was forced to give birth on a toilet in a Tennessee jail.
34-year-old Alyssia Moulton is suing Southern Health Partners, the medical provider for the Montgomery County jail, in federal court. She is also suing other people, some of whom are named and some of whom are not.
The 65-page lawsuit, which includes photos, says that staff ignored the mother’s pain and medical needs on purpose. In the filing, workers and the medical provider are accused of not following the rules of due process and medical negligence. The baby is one of the plaintiffs in the claim, which says all the defendants violated his right to due process.
In the document, Moulton’s son is only named “A.M.”
The claims in the filing may make up a scary story that sounds a lot like a medical nightmare.
The claim says, “Ms. Moulton was alone in her jail cell when she gave birth.” “The baby was born in the toilet.” She got hurt when she gave birth in the toilet, getting a blood infection from Gram-Positive Cocci and an eye infection from Citrobacter freundii.
The file says that Moulton was arrested on August 19, 2023, for theft. She found out she was pregnant after being checked that same day in jail by staff from Southern Health Partners.
The lawsuit says that a non-doctored healthcare worker did one medical evaluation connected to the pregnancy test. The lawsuit says that Moulton’s medical care did not continue in this way, and he was never set “at any point” for an evaluation by a doctor.
The lawsuit says that not setting up Ms. Moulton for a regular pre-natal medical exam by a licensed physician was especially bad because “Ms. Moulton 1) didn’t know she was pregnant, 2) had been using opioids while pregnant, 3) didn’t know when her last period was, 4) even if she knew when her last period was, she would have been at least 24 weeks pregnant, and 5) had never been checked out by a doctor during her entire pregnancy.”
The claim also says that the mother never got an ultrasound, even though the staff at the jail knew she was pregnant.
It is said that the pregnant woman was then left to her own means.
The claim says that Ms. Moulton was kept in medical isolation and spent 23 hours a day in her cell and only 1 hour a day outside of her cell. “This housing situation was the same as being locked up alone.” From August 19, 23 to August 27, 23 (until she gave birth and was taken to the hospital), Ms. Moulton was locked up in solitary confinement at the Montgomery County jail.
Moulton goes on to say that she told the medical staff many times that she was having contractions the morning of her son’s birth. One of the defendants wrote in the log book about a visit from “nursing staff”: “No palpable contraction observed.” This entry is part of the lawsuit.
The claim says that none of the nurses “took Ms. Moulton’s complaints of contractions seriously” and instead “consciously disregarded the foreseeable risk that Ms. Moulton would imminently deliver her baby.”
The claim says, “Because Defendants were aware of this risk, Ms. Moulton gave birth alone in a jail cell, delivering her baby into the toilet.” “The jail cell where Ms. Moulton had to give birth by herself is not a medically appropriate setting.”
According to the document, Moulton was put back in solitary confinement two days after giving birth. The lawsuit says the mother and kid met again a week later, on September 5, 2023.
Moulton also says that she didn’t get much help for her drug detox.
The lawsuit says, “At no time did any employee of SHP teach Ms. Moulton about the availability of medication to manage her withdrawal symptoms.” “At no point did anyone from SHP give Ms. Moulton the right medicines to treat her withdrawal symptoms.” Contrary to what ACOG recommends, Ms. Moulton was not told about the risks of withdrawal, especially while she was pregnant, and was not given the right medications to treat her withdrawal symptoms.
For their part, one of the defendants wrote in the log that Moulton “has been refusing detox medication.”
In her claim, Moulton says that this is not true, stating that she “was never offered detox medication” and “never signed” a form refusing treatment.
The person suing is suing in the Middle District of Tennessee on four counts. She wants to be paid for future monetary and non-monetary losses, including mental and physical pain, humiliation, discomfort, fear, anxiety, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of liberty, privacy, sense of security, and loss of individual honor, as well as other non-monetary losses. Punitive damages and attorney’s fees are also being asked for in the case.
Chris Smith, Moulton’s civil rights lawyer, told Law&Crime, “We look forward to bringing this important case on behalf of Ms. Moulton and her child.” “This case brings up important questions about why pregnant women are locked up.” Tennessee has one of the highest rates of women in prison in the country. The country as a whole has one of the highest rates of women in prison in the world. We hope that this lawsuit brings attention to this important social problem and makes more people aware of the civil rights of pregnant inmates.
