New York, NY —

Former inmates are urging Governor Paterson to sign a bill to prohibit the use of handcuffs and shackles on female prisoners during and after child-birth. They demonstrated with prisoner advocates outside the governor's office yesterday.

Former Rikers inmate Twanda Wright says she was restrained during a 36-hour labor that ended in an emergency c-section:

WRIGHT: I have one arm with an IV in it, the other one handcuffed to the bed and one of my ankles handcuffed to the bed. Where am I going? I mean it's like come on now, and even some of the nurses they were like: can you please remove the handcuffs?

REPORTER: The Governor showed up at the demonstration and said he supports the bill, but is concerned about a provision that requires one hand to be cuffed during transport. He says that could be dangerous if there's a car accident.