Susie Cagle

Susie Cagle is a journalist based in Oakland, California. Her work has appeared in the Nation, the Guardian, Al Jazeera America, and elsewhere. She is a 2014 Online Journalism Awards finalist, a 2013 International Women’s Media Foundation grantee, and a 2012 James Madison Freedom of Information award winner.

Why Are Alameda County Jails Forcing Women to Take Pregnancy Tests?

Susie Cagle

For at least several years, Alameda County sheriffs and medical personnel have routinely conducted pregnancy tests on thousands of prisoners, old and young, fertile and sterile, willing or not. It's a practice that isn't shared by any other jails in California. No one can say for exactly how long Alameda County jails have been forcing arrested women to take pregnancy tests, and no one can really explain why.