MEDIA ADVISORY, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, January 13, 2015
Contact: Sara Ainsworth, (212) 255-9252 sla@advocatesforpregnantwomen.org; Lynn Paltrow, (212) 255-9252, lmp@advocatesforpregnantwomen.org
Madison, Wisconsin: Lawyers for Tamara Loertscher, a Wisconsin pregnant woman who was detained and jailed when she sought medical help, have filed a motion asking a federal court to halt enforcement of the state law used to deprive her of her freedom and access to prenatal care. The motion for preliminary injunction, filed last week, explains in detail the ways in which Wisconsin's law, known when it was enacted as the "cocaine mom" law, strips pregnant women of nearly every civil right associated with constitutional personhood and endangers the health of pregnant women and babies. Because Ms. Loertscher was required to file portions of the motion under seal, only the public portion is available, and can be found here: https://bit.ly/1yd8tkf.