Julie Bilotta prison birth “tip of the iceberg,” say protesting mothers

OTTAWA – A group of mothers is demanding a full inquiry into what they say is systemic inhumane treatment of women in the prison system.

They say the case of Julie Bilotta, who gave birth last month in an Ottawa jail cell, is just one example of the harsh conditions women endure behind bars.

The group, calling itself the Mother and Baby Coalition for Justice, demonstrated today outside the offices of Ontario Correctional Services Minister Madeleine Meilleur.

Ariel Troster, who helped organize the demonstration, says Bilotta’s case was not an isolated incident.

Bilotta, a 26-year-old from Cornwall, Ont., gave birth prematurely to a boy on the floor of a cell at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre on Sept. 29.

The woman’s mother says Bilotta’s screams for help as she went into labour were ignored for hours.