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July 8, 2013

Report: Female Prisoners Unlawfully Sterilized in California 
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The Center for Investigative Reporting has revealed nearly 150 female
prisoners in California were surgically sterilired without required
state approvals from 2006 to 2010. There may be roughly 100 additional
cases dating back to the late 1990s. Prisoners reported being coerced
into the sterilizations by medical staff. One woman said a prison doctor
“made me feel like a bad mother if I didn't do it.” While such
sterilizations require approval from top state medical officials, no
requests have come before the committee responsible. The revelation has
recalled an era decades ago when prisoners, the mentally ill and the
poor were systematically sterilized in California and other states.

 

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