Colorado § 26-1-137 - Persons committed to or placed in a department of human services facility - prohibition against the use of restraints on pregnant women.

§ 26-1-137. Persons committed to or placed in a department of human services facility - prohibition against the use of restraints on pregnant women.

(1) As used in this section, "facility staff" means the staff of a state department facility or facility supervised by the executive director.

(2) Facility staff, in restraining a woman who is committed to or placed pursuant to this title or title 27, C.R.S., in a state department facility or a facility supervised by the executive director, shall use the least restrictive restraint necessary to ensure safety if the facility staff have actual knowledge or a reasonable belief that the woman is pregnant. The requirement that staff use the least restrictive restraints necessary to ensure safety shall continue during postpartum recovery and transport to or from a facility.

(3) (a) (I) Facility staff or medical staff shall not use restraints of any kind on a pregnant woman during labor and delivery of the child; except that staff may use restraints if:

(A) The medical staff determine that restraints are medically necessary for safe childbirth;

(B) The facility staff or medical staff determine that the woman presents an immediate and serious risk of harm to herself, to other patients, or to medical staff; or

(C) The facility staff determine that the woman poses a substantial risk of escape that cannot reasonably be reduced by the use of other existing means.

(II) Notwithstanding any provision of subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (a) to the contrary, under no circumstances shall staff use leg shackles or waist restraints on a pregnant woman during labor and delivery of the child, postpartum recovery while in a medical facility, or transport to or from a medical facility for childbirth.

(b) The facility or medical staff authorizing the use of restraints on a pregnant woman during labor or delivery of the child shall make a written record of the use of restraints, which record shall include, at a minimum, the type of restraint used, the circumstances that necessitated the use of the restraint, and the length of time the restraint was used. The state department shall retain the record for a minimum of five years and shall make the record available for public inspection with individually identifying information redacted from the record unless the woman who is the subject of the record gives prior written consent for the public release of the record. The written record of the use of restraint shall not constitute a medical record under state or federal law.

(4) After childbirth and upon return to a state department facility or a facility supervised by the executive director, the woman shall be entitled to have a member of the state department's medical staff present during any strip search.

(5) When a woman's pregnancy is determined, the facility staff shall inform a pregnant woman committed to or placed in a state department facility or a facility supervised by the executive director in writing in a language and in a manner understandable to the woman of the provisions of this section concerning the use of restraints and the presence of medical staff during a strip search.

(6) The executive director shall ensure that facility staff receive adequate training concerning the provisions of this section.

Source: L. 2010: Entire section added, (SB 10-193), ch. 312, p. 1467, § 4, effective January 1, 2011.