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‘AN OUTRAGE’

Inmate, 30, died of coronavirus days after giving birth while on a ventilator

A PREGNANT inmate dying of COVID-19 gave birth while on a ventilator.

Andrea Circle Bear, 30, died on April 28, four weeks after her daughter was born in custody at Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas.

 Andrea Circle Bear, 30, died April 28, four weeks after giving birth to a baby girl
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Andrea Circle Bear, 30, died April 28, four weeks after giving birth to a baby girlCredit: Facebook

Circle Bear, who was serving a 26-month sentence for selling drugs from her home in South Dakota, was not due to give birth until May, according to her grandmother Clara LaBeau.

"I was not thinking she was going to deliver because she was admitted for pneumonia," Clara LaBeau told BuzzFeed.

The last time Circle Bear spoke to her grandmother, on March 31, a doctor got on the phone and asked LaBeau if she would take the child once it was born.

The next day, Circle Bear’s baby was delivered via a C-section.

"I asked if (Andrea) knew about her having her baby, and they said, no,” LaBeau said.

The baby twice tested negative for COVID-19, and LaBeau drove from South Dakota to collect the child from the prison on April 17, she told the Rapid City Journal.

Less than two weeks later, Circle Bear succumbed to the respiratory illness.

 Circle Bear gave birth prematurely on a ventilator as she battled COVID-19
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Circle Bear gave birth prematurely on a ventilator as she battled COVID-19Credit: Facebook
 Circle Bear was first brought to FMC Carswell, a federal prison medical facility in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 20 from a local jail in South Dakota
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Circle Bear was first brought to FMC Carswell, a federal prison medical facility in Fort Worth, Texas, on March 20 from a local jail in South DakotaCredit: BOP
 She died at John Peter Smith Hospital while serving a 26-month sentence for maintaining a drug-involved premises
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She died at John Peter Smith Hospital while serving a 26-month sentence for maintaining a drug-involved premisesCredit: google maps

“The baby is really doing well,” LeBeau said.

Circle Bear was a mother of six, including her newborn, and had hoped after serving her sentence to return to her family and attend college.

Bear was transported from Winner City Jail in South Dakota to Texas and placed in quarantine amid coronavirus procedures on March 20, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said.

Just a week later, she was taken to the hospital due to possible pregnancy concerns.

Bear was discharged from the hospital the same day, but just three days later on March 31, she developed symptoms of coronavirus – including a dry cough and fever – and she was transported to the hospital again.

On April 4, three days after the birth of her child, she tested positive for COVID-19.

Her condition deteriorated and she succumbed to the illness on April 28.

According to the statement, Bear "had a pre-existing condition which the CDC lists as a risk factor for developing more severe COVID-19."

The Bureau of Prisons did not specify what her pre-existing condition was.

Bear was serving time for Maintaining a Drug Involved Premises – or managing or owning a place used to manufacture, store, distribute, or use a controlled substance – according to the Bureau of Prisons.

Congressional Democrats condemned the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for its treatment of Circle Bear, saying more needs to be done to protect vulnerable inmates.

"It's an outrage that Andrea Circle Bear, a near full-term, pregnant woman with underlying medical conditions, lost her life while in federal custody”, said Congressman Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, in a statement provided to Reuters.

"We have a moral and constitutional duty to prevent additional deaths among those who are detained or imprisoned," he added.

Amid outbreak fears, hundreds of prisoners have been released from prison.

According to the latest CDC data, as of April 21, 4,893 cases and 88 deaths among incarcerated and detained persons have been reported.

However, state-by-state figures compiled by The Marshall Project indicate there has been more than 20,000 COVID-19 cases in US prisons, and 304 deaths.

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