# 119-hr-8690: Pregnant Women in Custody Act

119-hr-8690, Pregnant Women in Custody Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [D-CA-37] (D-CA); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8690
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-8690
- Congress: 119
- Title: Pregnant Women in Custody Act
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2026-05-07
- Sponsor: Rep. Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [D-CA-37] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 19
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**Protecting pregnant people in custody** is the bill's central goal, pairing a ban on restraints and long restrictive housing with requirements for medical care, mother‑infant bonding, data collection, and staff training. It creates uniform standards across federal and covered custodial settings and new reporting and enforcement paths. - Pregnant people and newborns gain specific health and bonding protections. The bill bans shackling during pregnancy and postpartum recovery, bars solitary in the third trimester, limits restrictive housing until at least 12 weeks post‑delivery, and requires at least 60 minutes of mother‑infant bonding time plus access to nursery placement and lactation support. - Families and parental caregivers get counseling and support. The law requires prenatal and postpartum education within 14 days of pregnancy notice and counseling on parental rights, kinship care, family‑preservation services, and Office of Child Support Enforcement guidance. - Agencies and staff face new reporting, training, and oversight duties. The Bureau of Justice Statistics and DHS/ORR must publish custody pregnancy health statistics, agencies must finalize emergency birth rules within 180 days and public stats within one year, mandatory staff training is required, GAO will study local practices, and civil actions are authorized for violations.

## Cosponsors (19)

- Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4] (D-GA), 2026-05-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2026-05-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Brownley, Julia [D-CA-26] (D-CA), 2026-05-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Simon, Lateefah [D-CA-12] (D-CA), 2026-05-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ramirez, Delia C. [D-IL-3] (D-IL), 2026-05-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7] (D-IL), 2026-05-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7] (D-AL), 2026-05-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3] (D-OH), 2026-05-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Jackson, Jonathan L. [D-IL-1] (D-IL), 2026-05-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Titus, Dina [D-NV-1] (D-NV), 2026-05-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Espaillat, Adriano [D-NY-13] (D-NY), 2026-05-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2] (D-CO), 2026-05-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Menefee, Christian D. [D-TX-18] (D-TX), 2026-05-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Sykes, Emilia Strong [D-OH-13] (D-OH), 2026-05-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Randall, Emily [D-WA-6] (D-WA), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4] (D-IL), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7] (D-IN), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI), 2026-07-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12] (D-NJ), 2026-09-01T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Ban shackling and solitary in prison: benefit, high. If enacted, an incarcerated pregnant woman would not be shackled or put in restrictive housing from pregnancy confirmation until at least 12 weeks after delivery, unless a very narrow, individualized exception applies. Any exception would require daily review and an individualized plan to move the…
- Limit shackling in immigration custody: benefit, high. If enacted, a pregnant woman in CBP, ICE, or ORR custody would not be shackled or placed in restrictive housing from pregnancy confirmation until at least 12 weeks after delivery. Temporary exceptions would require an individualized determination with daily review and a plan to move the person to l…
- More pregnancy care and bonding: benefit, high. If enacted, pregnant people in custody would be offered nursery or residential programs so a mother and infant can stay together after birth. They would get lactation support and access to contraception and to pregnancy and STI testing on request; an entry pregnancy test would be offered but could…
- Training and public pregnancy data: benefit, medium. If enacted, federal and covered state and local staff would get new education and training on the health needs of pregnant people in custody and harms of restraints. The Bureau of Prisons must provide initial training within 180 days, train new hires within 30 days, and give recurring training twic…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-8690 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8690)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-20)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8690 (as of 2026-09-21).