The Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project (PILP) and Women’s Law Project (WLP) filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on behalf of plaintiff Nicole Lane, a Pennsylvania woman subjected to a horrifying sequence of cruel, unusual, and inhumane treatment during her pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum recovery while incarcerated at Washington County Correctional Facility (WCCF) in Washington County, Pennsylvania.
Ms. Lane was in her third trimester and suffering serious pregnancy complications when WCCF denied her necessary prenatal care and exposed her to inadequate nutrition and excessive heat. At 38 weeks pregnant, WCCF left Ms. Lane alone and unmonitored in her cell for over 24 hours while she exhibited symptoms of severe preeclampsia – a life-threatening condition.
The lawsuit seeks damages pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for the deprivation of her rights as guaranteed by the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, and under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Pennsylvania’s Healthy Birth for Incarcerated Women Act, and Pennsylvania tort law. The Healthy Birth for Incarcerated Women Act, the state law that restricts the use of restraints on pregnant women, has been in effect since 2010 and was expanded in 2023.
LEGAL DOCUMENTS
Lane Complaint (pdf)