Trump team decided to detain pregnant women, and miscarriages doubled

Trump and his administration have been touting their so-called “pro-life” bona fides, while at the same time spewing dangerous lies about Democrats’ views on abortion rights.

Yet as Trump and his administration tout their commitment to protecting life in the womb, the number of miscarriages in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities has nearly doubled since Trump implemented his “zero tolerance” immigration policy that called for detaining pregnant women, the Daily Beast reported on Friday.

And Democrats want an investigation, fearing that inhumane treatment of migrants is causing the surge of women miscarrying while under ICE’s watch.

“We have heard several alarming stories of pregnant women receiving inadequate medical care and even miscarrying while in [Department of Homeland Security] custody,” Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) said in a statement to the Daily Beast.

“These tragedies make one thing very clear: ICE and [U.S. Customs and Border Patrol] should not be detaining expectant mothers in poor conditions, and the practice of detaining these women is inhumane and inconsistent with our values as Americans.”

According to the Daily Beast’s report, 10 migrant women in ICE custody miscarried between October 2016 and September 2017. As of Aug. 31, 2018, the number of miscarriages in ICE custody jumped to 18.

In between those dates, in December 2017, the Trump administration implemented their “zero tolerance” immigration policy, which has led pregnant women being detained. This is a change from the Obama administration’s policy, which prohibited pregnant women from being detained “absent extraordinary circumstances,” according to the Daily Beast’s report.

Medical experts told the Daily Beast that detaining pregnant women is dangerous, as they need medical care in order to carry safe pregnancies.

“Things can go bad very quickly, so you can see a woman begin to develop high blood pressure—which that would need very immediate attention—and that woman might not receive that attention in a timely fashion,” Dr. Alan Shapiro, a pediatrician who co-founded an organization that gives migrant children medical care, told the Daily Beast.

Ultimately, Democrats want an investigation into whether the Trump administration’s policies have led to the increase in miscarriages.

“I fear this tragedy could be a consequence of that negligence,” Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL) told the Daily Beast of the rise of miscarriages in ICE detention.

So much for the Trump administration being “pro-life.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.