Women Prisoners Demand Health Care/WW id AAA12253; Sun, 21 Sep 1997 00:44:26 -0400 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit ------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the September 25, 1997 issue of Workers World newspaper ------------------------- CALIFORNIA PROTEST SET FOR OCT. 4: WOMEN PRISONERS DEMAND HEALTH CARE By Judy Greenspan Chowchilla, Calif. Tucked away in California's central agricultural valley, in the small, quiet town of Chowchilla, are two of the biggest women's prisons in the United States and possibly the world. For the past four years, women at the Central California Women's Facility have been fighting a callous and uncaring prison administration for basic medical care. This battle has not been without its heart-wrenching casualties. Many women--including Molly Reyes, Jackie Jenkins, Susan Bouchard, Joann Walker, Francesca Shields and Dianna Reyes--have died along the way due to the poor quality of care. The hard work of the women inside--led by HIV-positive prisoner organizer Joann Walker and supported by the advocacy efforts of activist coalitions on the outside-- brought this medical neglect to the attention of both the American Civil Liberties Union National Prison Project in Washington and Legal Services for Prisoners with Children in San Francisco. On April 4, 1995, a class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of women with sickle-cell anemia, cancer, HIV, asthma, diabetes and other serious and chronic illnesses. A settlement was recently reached. If enforced vigorously, it could vastly improve the delivery of medical care at both CCWF and the California Institution for Women in Frontera. But what about that second prison in Chowchilla, Valley State Prison for Women? Its warden proudly dubs it the "Pelican Bay for Women." Medical care at this prison is not covered by the recent legal settlement, as the prison opened in May 1995. Several prisoners have already died of neglect and abuse. The horror stories are getting the attention of organizations like the California Coalition for Women Prisoners. The Coalition is organizing a demonstration to take place at noon on Oct. 4 at both women's prisons in Chowchilla; they are right across the rural street from each other. The demonstration's theme is "Support the Fight Against Medical Neglect and Torture." The Coalition, which supported the earlier lawsuit, Shumate v. Wilson, has announced it will not stop its advocacy efforts on behalf of women prisoners at both prisons. There are already some indications that women prisoners inside CCWF are facing retaliation for their role in the lawsuit. Clearly nothing will change unless people on the outside continue to expose the criminal treatment of women in prison--most of whom are poor women of color with substance abuse problems, victims of the U.S. government's war against the poor. The words of Charisse Shumate, the lead prisoner in the lawsuit, filter through the walls of CCWF: "We won part of the battle but we are losing the war. Their attitudes are changing slowly for the better. ... The state still will not admit to their lack of knowledge of women's medical needs, their outright neglect that caused us to watch each other die behind these walls, who were not sentenced to death by a judge. "But our death is on the hands of those who want to put on a bandaid cure and call it adequate care." Those who want more information about the Oct. 4 demonstration and the campaign for justice for women prisoners can call the California Coalition for Women Prisoners at(510) 834-5656, ext. 3150, or (415) 255-7036, ext. 4. - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Permission to reprint granted if source is cited. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: ww@workers.org. For subscription info send message to: info@workers.org. Web: http://workers.org) ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytfem-09.21.97-00:44:32-21398