Okanogan Jail Not Ready To Be A Maternity Ward

Okanogan County Sheriff Jim Weed went to court Thursday to try to get pregnant inmate Carol Louie out of his jail before he winds up washing diapers.

“We do not have the facilities to care for a new mother or to protect the child while in the jail from diseases or assaults, which occur from time to time,” Weed said.

Then there’s breast-feeding, mother-child bonding and neonatal care.

“These are not issues we are prepared to deal with,” Weed said.

Louie is due to give birth June 23.

Having a baby isn’t cheap, either, the sheriff added. Pointing out that his medical budget is $2,500 a month, Weed estimated a normal birth would cost the county $4,000 and a complicated Caesarean section could run $20,000.

Louie, 28, was pregnant when she was sentenced in February to two years and two months for two counts each of drunken driving and first-degree driving with a suspended license. She has four previous drunken driving convictions and one for driving while suspended.

Assistant Public Defender Aaron Walls suggested giving Louie a month of electronic monitoring at her home in Oroville, Wash., near the Canadian border. Weed liked that idea but also suggested transferring Louie to a Seattle-area jail with a hospital ward.

Another inmate was recently furloughed for three months to have a baby even though she was convicted on more serious assault charges, Weed said.

But Deputy Prosecutor Dale Lehrman feared Louie would quickly flee to Canada, where she has dual citizenship. He said electronic monitoring would “only tell us when she leaves.”

Edwards decided to furlough Louie from the time she goes into labor until the hospital releases her.

He questioned her about her other children, a 5-year-old girl, who is living with Louie’s mother, and a 3-year-old boy. Louie said she gave custody of the boy to his father.

She told the judge her daughter once was kidnapped by a man who mistakenly thought he was her father.

Edwards ruled that the new baby will go straight to state Child Protective Services or to the Osoyoos band of the North Okanagan Tribe in British Columbia, which may have a legal claim to the child.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: BYLINE = John Craig Staff writer Bill Stevenson of the Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune contributed to this report.