Shocking: Homeless Woman in Labor Gets Ticket Instead of Care!

Under a bustling overpass, a pregnant woman caught on the body cameras of the Louisville Metro Police Department in late September pleaded with officers, “I need to get to the hospital. What am I doing wrong?”

The woman, in the throes of labor and fearing her water had broken, informed the approaching officers of her condition. However, this did not prevent them from issuing her a citation for infringing a new Kentucky statute prohibiting all forms of street camping—a law among many passed this year that criminalize homelessness.

Lt. Caleb Stewart, the officer who issued the citation in Louisville, assured her he would summon an ambulance. Yet, when she started to move towards the road to await medical help, he sharply instructed her to halt.

“Am I being detained?” she inquired.

“Yes, you’re being detained,” he responded. “You’re being detained for illegally camping.”

Stewart later declared on the body camera’s audio that he doubted the woman was actually in labor. However, a public defender representing her confirmed to Kentucky Public Radio that she indeed gave birth later that same day. She and her family were residing in a shelter while awaiting a January court date about her citation.

The impending trial and the footage highlight “the ridiculousness and inhumanity of anti-camping laws in Kentucky and those being introduced nationwide,” noted Jesse Rabinowitz from the National Homelessness Law Center. “This is a severe example, but sadly, it is not unique. Instead of tackling the root causes of homelessness—like the increasing inability of many to afford rent—lawmakers are enacting policies that further penalize the impoverished and exacerbate homelessness. The real solution to homelessness is providing housing and support, not issuing tickets or fines.”

In July, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld that officials may prohibit sleeping and camping in public spaces. Since this ruling, Rabinowitz stated that nearly 150 cities across the U.S. have enacted similar anti-camping laws.

The video also came to light shortly after Republican leaders praised “the individual who killed Jordan Neely, a homeless man in New York,” according to Rabinowitz. “And [President-elect] Donald Trump and his wealthy allies are proposing to corral homeless individuals into detention centers. These actions only worsen the problem of homelessness.”

Shameka Parrish-Wright, director of the advocacy group VOCAL-KY, expressed, “The neglect and contempt for these two individuals stem directly from this year’s enactment of the ‘Safer Kentucky Act.'”

“Across the nation and right here in Louisville, those experiencing homelessness are battling for their survival. The only real solution to prevent such incidents in the future is to invest in immediate, affordable housing and healthcare—not by distributing more tickets that do not provide housing for anyone,” stated Parrish-Wright. “Shame on the politicians who facilitated this calamity.”

“If lawmakers truly cared about homeless Kentuckians,” she continued, “they would prioritize securing the housing and support these individuals desperately need.”