An alarming report out of Detroit has sparked outrage in the city and nationwide after a woman had to give birth to her baby while lying on the floor of a jail cell. She had been in the cell because she wasn’t able to pay the fine for driving on a suspended license, and thus had to give birth as she waited for her court date.

Further more, Jessica Preston said she only received treatment after being ignored for eight hours, finally giving birth on a mat on the jail cell floor to her son Elijha, who is 9 months old now. She spoke to local news outlets recently about her experience at the Macomb County Jail.

The county sheriff hit back at the complaint, saying he was confident staff handled the incident correctly and that Preston was in fact promptly moved to the medical wing when she reported contractions, and that taxpayers would have to foot the bill if they wanted inmates to receive better treatment.