The statement from the lawsuit reads: "Ms. Moulton was alone in her jail cell when she delivered the baby. She delivered the baby into the toilet. As a result of delivery into the toilet, A.M. suffered various injuries, including a blood infection of Gram-Positive Cocci and an eye infection of Citrobacter freundii."
As per the lawsuit, Moulton was arrested on burglary charges on August 19 last year. Reportedly, she discovered her pregnancy that very day when tested by staff from Southern Health Partners at the jail, reports the Mirror US .
The lawsuit decries that despite discovering her condition, no arrangements were made for her to see a doctor. It emphasizes: "The failure to schedule Ms. Moulton for a routine pre-natal medical evaluation by a licensed physician was especially egregious.
"Ms. Moulton 1) was unaware she was pregnant, 2) had been using opioids while pregnant 3) was unsure of her last menstrual period, 4) even her last menstrual period as reported would make her at least 24 weeks pregnant, and 5) during her entire pregnancy, she had never been evaluated by a medical doctor."
The lawsuit further alleges that despite staff being aware of her pregnancy, she wasn't given an ultrasound and was left alone. It states: "Ms. Moulton was housed in medical isolation, where she spent 23 hours per day in her cell, with 1 hour per day out of her cell.
"This housing condition constituted solitary confinement. Ms. Moulton was housed in solitary confinement for the duration of her incarceration at the Montgomery County jail, from 8/19/23 to 8/27/23 (until delivery of her baby and transport to the hospital)."
She claims that despite complaining about contractions on the morning of the birth, her complaints were allegedly dismissed and staff 'consciously disregarded the foreseeable risk that Ms. Moulton would imminently deliver her baby.'
The lawsuit asserts: "As a result of Defendants' conscious disregard of this risk, Ms. Moulton gave birth alone in a jail cell, delivering her baby into the toilet. The jail cell in which Ms. Moulton was forced to deliver her baby alone is not a medically adequate facility."
Moulton was sent back to solitary confinement just two days after giving birth, but she was eventually reunited with her baby boy on September 5, 2023. She alleges that the support for her drug withdrawal was virtually non-existent.
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Moulton's advocate, the civil rights attorney Christopher Smith, commented to LawandCrime: "We look forward to bringing this important case on behalf of Ms. Moulton and her child."
"This case raises important questions about the incarceration of pregnant women. Tennessee has one of the highest rates of female incarceration in the nation, which itself has one of the highest rates of female incarceration in the world. We hope this lawsuit shines a light on this often-overlooked social issue and raises awareness of the civil rights of pregnant inmates."
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