Jessica Preston was eight months pregnant when she was arrested in Macomb County for driving with a suspended license in March 2016. It wasn’t her first run-in with the law, but it was her first driving-related offense.

That didn’t matter. She was given a choice: Spend 14 days in jail while waiting for a hearing date or come up with $10,000. Too poor to make bail, she was put behind bars. Five days after being jailed, what was already considered a high-risk pregnancy became infinitely riskier when she went into labor while locked behind bars. Ignoring her repeated claims that she was going into labor, jail personnel refused to call an ambulance, until it was too late to move her. Instead, she was forced to give birth on a mat placed on what’s been described as a “filthy” jail house floor.

Mother and child survived the ordeal. But the trauma remains, prompting lawyers for Ms. Preston to file a federal civil rights lawsuit on her behalf, claiming her constitutional right to humane treatment was violated.

A longtime addict prior to her child’s delivery, Ms. Preston had a history of drug arrests and outstanding warrants for failure to appear in court. If she were rich, Ms. Preston would have been allowed to purchase her freedom while awaiting trial. But because she’s poor, her life was put at risk and her son has the Macomb County Jail listed as the place of his birth on his birth certificate.

Speaking to a reporter about the horror she experienced, and her reason for speaking out, Ms. Preston has said, “I would never want it happening to anyone ever again.”

Noting the need to reform Michigan’s bail system, Ms. Preston’s attorney, Harold Perakis of the firm Ihrie O’Brien, equates his client’s situation to that of people previously sentenced to jail terms in Macomb County and other parts of the state because they couldn’t afford to pay the fines imposed after being convicted of minor crimes. Calling what’s known as “pay or stay” policies unconstitutional, the ACLU of Michigan previously filed a lawsuit intended to halt that practice.

Keeping poor people accused of minor, non-violent offences locked up because they can’t afford bail is really no different, says Mr. Perakis. “The same concept that makes ‘pay or stay’ policies unconstitutional should also apply to bond issues. Everyone needs to have their right to due process protected.”