AN AMERICAN WOMAN who was forced to give birth alone in her jail cell has filed a lawsuit against the city of Denver after nurses and prison officials ignored her screams and refused to take her to hospital during five hours of labour.
Diana Sanchez gave birth to a baby boy while behind bars in a Colorado jail back in July 2018, and CCTV footage has emerged which shows her crying out in pain for hours on-end.
She has decided to sue to the Denver County Sheriff's Department over how she was treated after prison officials "cruelly chose convenience over compassion" by failing to offer her any proper help.
The only example 'compassion' from staff was when an absorbent pad was slid under Sanchez's door for her to put on her bed about 45 minutes before she gave birth.
The lawsuit, which was filed last week, notes that no one had called an ambulance, despite the fact that she was bleeding, and that no one was in the cell at the time the baby was born.
It adds that no nurse dried or warmed the baby after birth, or even cleaned mucus from his mouth for several minutes. Not only that, the on-hand nurses didn't have the correct equipment to cut the umbilical cord, and Ms Sanchez had to wait around 15 minutes until fire-fighters arrived before it was cut.
Sanchez's lawyer Mari Newman also who noted that the open toilet several feet away from where she gave birth was blacked out by the city in the CCTV footage.
The footage, as well as news of the lawsuit has stirred up a lot of anger from members of the public.
The Denver County Sheriff's Department said last week that Ms Sanchez was being monitored at all times and was placed in the medical unit of the prison under the care of the nurses during the time of the delivery.
They claim that 'policy' prevented officials from stepping in and helping the mother out, but following this controversy, the department admitted that hat it has since changed its policy to ensure that pregnant inmates who are in any stage of labor are immediately taken to the hospital.
*WARNING* - DISTRESSING FOOTAGE
