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sarcasdic

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

My sister is in jail on misdemeanor drug charges from several years ago. She is 4 months pregnant and told her court appointed lawyer that when her court date came up. She was sentenced to 8 months. The lawyer told my mom that they didn't care about my sisters prenatal care, only that she didn't stay in jail long enough to have the baby because the state doesn't want that bill. The intake nurse informed my sister that she would receive an extra meal a day and milk at every meal because of the pregancy. She is only receiving milk once a day like the other inmates and has had several pregnancy related medical problems. SHe is not gaining weight and had passed out several times. My sister has put in a request twice to see a doctor and they have been ignored both times. Prenatal depression runs in our family. My mother had it with both of us and I had it with both of my children. I am concerned about her and the wellbeing of the baby. Any suggestions?
 
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outonbail

Senior Member
You need to find her a public defender so that somebody is filing a suit against the State before the situation gets worse. Your sister owes jail time but the innocent infant doesn't.
A public defender is not going to file a suit against the state.

When is her release date and when is her baby due?
 

outonbail

Senior Member
If she's serving eight months on misdemeanor drug charges, I would guess that she has a few priors, or violated her probation by not following through with drug classes or something to this effect.

This is probably why they are making her serve the eight months behind bars while she's pregnant. So, while I'm not familiar with her particular situation, at least you know that she's not using drugs while she's in jail and pregnant.

Jail food certainly isn't the preferred diet for a woman carrying a baby, but consuming narcotics is worse yet.

However, she should be able to fill out a kite or a request to see her own personal doctor with a police officer or corrections officer escorting her to and from the doctors appointment. This has to be arranged with her doctor and it is not free. She must pay for the transportation and the cost for the guards who escort her to this visit.

If her doctor concludes that your sister or her baby are in any danger or not receiving the care/nourishment she needs, then he/she can contact the jail facility doctor and discuss the matter. If the jail doctor agrees, they can move her to an infirmary ward in the jail or, if her conditions are urgent, they can move her to a jail ward at a local hospital.

This will take some time to arrange and the jail probably will not start making the arrangements until they have received the funds to cover all costs. Then things have to be coordinated with her doctor, so this doesn't happen over night.

How long has she been in custody? Unless it's noted as being an urgent matter, it can take a couple of weeks for the jail's doctor to see her after she has put in the request. The intake nurse may not be able to put the order in for a special diet tray. It may require an order from the actual doctor, so this may be why she hasn't received an extra milk or special diet tray.

Is the babies father involved in her situation?
 

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