Cook Co. inmates sue over shackled births

Former Cook County Jail inmates who say they were shackled to hospital beds during childbirth are asking a judge to grant class-action status to a lawsuit over the practice.

The motion filed Monday claims the Cook County sheriff's department is violating Illinois law and the U.S. Constitution by shackling women in labor.

Sheriff's department spokesman Steve Patterson has said deputies have followed department policy and that the actions conform to state law.

Marilu Morales filed suit alone last week, claiming she was shackled to a hospital bed until a doctor demanded she be released just before birth.

The class action status would allow women who have given birth at the jail since Dec. 4, 2006, to join the suit.