On May 13, 2026, attorneys with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Pregnancy Justice and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in Alabama on behalf of Tiffany McElroy and her infant daughter.
In May 2024, McElroy was just days into her detention at the Houston County Jail in Dothan, Alabama, for a pregnancy-related charge when her water broke. McElroy has a history of preterm labor and was in her third trimester. She pleaded to be taken to a hospital, but the guards ignored her. She was left slipping in and out of consciousness from excruciating pain.
Over the course of more than 24 hours of labor, other detained women assisted McElroy. They also begged the guards to help, but were met with threats of lockdown, being written up or being tased. As McElroy’s contractions slowed and her pregnancy began to exhibit signs of distress, the women stepped in to deliver the newborn.
When Baby B.T. was finally born, limp and blue, the women resuscitated the baby. No jail staff offered McElroy or Baby B.T. immediate assistance. McElroy became unresponsive.
Guards eventually placed McElroy in a wheelchair and transported her and Baby B.T. to a hospital. McElroy stayed there for three days before being returned to the jail while Baby B.T. was placed in the neonatal intensive care unit. McElroy was diagnosed with anemia from acute blood loss and a potentially deadly infection.
After the delivery, a guard told the women, “Y’all should’ve pushed that m‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑ baby back in.” The jail also punished the women on the cell block. They were not allowed outside, were only allowed to leave their bunks to use the bathroom, were not permitted to attend religious services and their phone privileges were revoked.
The federal lawsuit allows McElroy and Baby B.T. to sue for violations of their constitutional rights and names Houston County, the Houston County Commission, the Houston County sheriff and more than a dozen jail staff as defendants. Among other claims, the suit asserts violations of McElroy’s and Baby B.T.’s 14th Amendment rights through deliberate indifference to their serious medical needs. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
