The American Civil Liberties Union on Monday filed a class-action lawsuit in a U.S. District Court to force Wisconsin officials to correct what it calls a "grossly deficient" medical system for female prisoners at the Taycheedah Correctional Institution in Fond du Lac, Wis., the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The suit alleges that the system's mistakes have caused female inmates to commit suicide or experience painful disabilities, as well as exposed them to a highly contagious staph infection. The institution is a maximum- and medium-security prison that houses more than 700 female inmates (Zahn, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 5/2). The 49-page lawsuit -- which was filed on behalf of four female Taycheedah prisoners and names top state officials, including Gov. Jim Doyle (D) and state Department of Corrections Secretary Matthew Frank, as defendants -- contends that substandard health care services constitute "cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth and 14th Amendments" of the U.S. Constitution (Antlfinger, AP/Duluth News Tribune, 5/1). The lawsuit also alleges that female inmates at the institution receive substandard gynecological care and pregnant women are required to "remain shackled for most of their labor and to be reshackled immediately after childbirth." In addition, the suit alleges that women receive "far inferior" mental health care services than those provided to male inmates. "These situations are not isolated mistakes," Larry Dupuis, ACLU of Wisconsin's legal director, said, adding, "They are manifestations of a system that has been in crisis for years, and the state has made no meaningful effort to address its underlying problems." Rather than seeking monetary rewards in the suit, ACLU hopes the court will require the state to correct the institution's medical system, according to Dupuis. John Dipko, a spokesperson for the state corrections department, said the agency had not yet reviewed the details of the suit. "However, we have made many strides just in the past six months to a year in the area of health care," Dipko said in a written statement, adding that the agency is seeking accreditation for the facilities, including Taycheedah, from the National Commission on Correctional Health Care. The NCCHC this spring is scheduled to meet with Taycheedah officials to review what is needed to obtain accreditation standards, Dipko said (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/1).

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