Constitutional Rights of Infants and Toddlers to Have Opportunities to Form Secure Attachment with Incarcerated Mothers: Importance of Prison Nurseries

Abstract

While the number of women is increasing among the prison population, so too is the need to accommodate those who are pregnant and with children. Instead of examining the diminished rights of incarcerated mothers, this paper examines the rights of babies (infants and toddlers) to have opportunities to form a secure attachment with their incarcerated mother. This paper argues this right triggers the government’s affirmative duty to provide prison nurseries. This paper also seeks several aims that include an examination of the issue of prison nurseries, the need for such programs, their history, the constitutional rights of infants and toddlers to have opportunities to form secure attachment with their long-term caregiver, and the policy implications for women or female prisons.