Ann Arbor, Mich. — A former inmate of the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility has filed a federal lawsuit claiming Michigan Department of Corrections officers recorded her with body cameras while she gave birth at Trinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital in March 2025.
The complaint says officers, including a man, stayed in the room through labor, delivery and postpartum care with chest-mounted cameras facing her bed. It says the cameras were not in sleep mode, as department policy requires in private settings. She was returned to prison less than 48 hours after giving birth.
The suit says department leadership was warned in writing about 17 days before the birth that recording undressed women violates the state felony voyeurism law. MDOC Director Heidi Washington did not change the recording policy until March 24, 2025.
The lawsuit, brought by Flood Law, seeks compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and a jury trial. It also claims an officer warned a relative that a photo of the newborn could add two years to the sentence. The department did not respond to a request for comment.
The woman was serving time for a nonviolent drug offense and was paroled in December 2025.
