Woman Gave Birth To Baby Alone On MD Jail Cell Floor: Lawsuit

HAGERSTOWN, MD — A Maryland mother has filed a lawsuit against Washington County after claiming she was forced to give birth to her first child alone on the concrete floor of a jail cell, according to a report by The Associated Press.

The lawsuit, filed by Jazmin Valentine, claims Washington County, its sheriff's department and sheriff, as well as nurses and deputies at the jail, violated Valentine's rights under state law and the Constitution when they ignored her pleas for help for nearly six hours on July 21, 2021.

Valentine was 8 months pregnant when she was arrested for a probation violation and taken to jail a day before she went into labor, The AP reported.

The lawsuit alleges that nurses at the jail claimed Valentine was going through drug withdrawal and was simply trying to get out of her cell. According to the suit, Valentine removed her baby's amniotic sac and slid it under her cell door to prove she was having a baby.

The lawsuit is similar to one filed in Colorado in 2019 against the city and county of Denver, Denver Health Medical Center, and six individuals after a woman said she was forced to give birth to her baby alone in a prison cell with no medical treatment.

• RELATED: Woman Forced To Give Birth Alone In Denver Jail: Lawsuit

Diana Sanchez said she told Denver Sheriff Department deputies that she was in labor at 5 a.m. on July 31, 2018, and she gave birth to her child in the cell at 10:44 a.m. — about an hour after her water broke, according to a lawsuit.

Sanchez said there was no medical treatment or supervision during her birth, the court documents show. She said prison employees, deputies and Denver Health nurses "callously made her labor alone for hours, and ultimately give birth alone in a dirty jail cell without any medical care."

Read more via The Associated Press