The ACLU of Northern California and the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office have reached a settlement agreement that will ensure that women are able to choose whether they receive pregnancy testing in the county’s jails. The agreement is the result of a lawsuit, Harman v. Ahern, filed by the ACLU on behalf of two women who were forced to take pregnancy tests while in custody. The suit argued the policy was a violation of the California Constitution, the U.S. Constitution and state statutory law.

Phyllida Burlingame, Reproductive Justice Policy Director at the ACLU of Northern California, said, “The county’s stated intent was to protect the reproductive health of women in its custody, but forcing all female arrestees to undergo pregnancy testing violated their rights and left our clients feeling humiliated.”

Susan Harman, one of the plaintiffs, who was 69 when she was required to undergo a pregnancy test, is happy with the outcome of the case. “I am pleased that Alameda County is changing its practices to better support women. Pregnancy testing may be useful and should be offered, but it should always be up to the individual.”

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