Maryland pro-life group asks support for pregnant prison inmate

Published: 2004-12-17

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- The Maryland Catholic pro-life organization Defend Life is urging its members, friends and supporters to "bombard" Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. with e-mails and letters asking him to commute the sentence of a pregnant 32-year-old woman serving five years in the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup. Inmate Rebecca Price was convicted of a white-collar crime and sentenced Sept. 8 in Washington County Circuit Court in Hagerstown. She is expecting a baby girl, whom she has already named Hannah Elizabeth, on Jan. 17. Family members and close friends say Price's prenatal care is inadequate because the prison system is ill-equipped to deal with pregnant inmates. She also may have gestational diabetes, which sometimes occurs during pregnancy. They say Price cannot enter a prison program for pregnant women, which would allow her to keep her infant, because it is only for those with a history of substance abuse. She will be handcuffed before and immediately after delivery. Only correctional personnel can be present. Her baby will be taken from her.

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