HOUSTON COUNTY, ALABAMA — Tiffany McElroy filed a federal lawsuit in the Middle District of Alabama in May 2024 alleging that Houston County jail staff left her to labor alone for more than a day, violating her and her infant daughter's civil rights. The complaint names 20 defendants, including guards on duty during her labor, a nurse, and the county sheriff who oversees the jail, and accuses them of violating her constitutional rights.

McElroy was booked into the jail in May 2024 on charges stemming from an allegation of substance use during pregnancy. Three days after her arrival, she said her water broke several weeks before her expected due date. She later discovered she had a pregnancy complication that could have progressed into sepsis.

According to court filings, McElroy informed a guard that her water had broken and believed she would be taken to a hospital for treatment. A guard checked on her later that morning, accused her of wetting herself, and instructed her to return to her cell. Over the following 24 hours, she repeatedly asked jail employees to call 911 but they did not, while other inmates pounded on cell windows and tables pleading for assistance. Medical staff gave her only a diaper and Tylenol.

Another inmate assisted McElroy in delivering her baby girl on the prison floor, and the newborn was not breathing at birth while prison guards watched. Two women in the same pod attempted to revive the newborn by removing mucus from her mouth and rubbing her until she cried. A guard then directed a profane remark at the women suggesting they should have pushed the baby back inside, and punished those in the cell block by prohibiting them from going outside, attending religious services, and revoking their phone privileges.

"I'm so grateful that my baby and I are here today, and I owe that to other women because the guards treated me like I was less than nothing. My body was on fire, and I was terrified that I'd never see my other kids again. I barely got to hold her, and I couldn't even breastfeed," McElroy said. She was released from the jail last year.

"I have nightmares that we both died – and it's like a part of me did die that day. I'm scared to even get pregnant again. They shouldn't be allowed to do that to another woman ever again," she said.

The lawsuit argues that the events stemmed from failures at the Houston County jail, including a system where local officials focused on reducing costs instead of providing proper inmate care. "I tried to help her, but I was told I was going to be fired if I did help her, so I could not assist," former deputy Kathy Youngblood said.

Another Alabama woman, who claimed she was forced to give birth without any medical help in a jail shower, settled a federal civil rights lawsuit against Etowah County last year. Pregnancy Justice, a legal advocacy organization, found that Alabama led other states in prosecuting pregnant women for drug-related charges since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.