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June 24, 2014

Report: 39 Prisoners in California Illegally Sterilized 
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In California, a state auditor's report has found dozens of prisoners
were illegally sterilized. Out of 144 surgical sterilizations performed
in recent years, 39 — or more than a quarter of them — were
performed without the legal requirements for consent. In some cases,
doctors failed to sign paperwork certifying the prisoner understood the
impact of the procedure; in others, they falsified paperwork to make it
appear as if a state-mandated waiting period had passed. It is the
latest chapter in an unfolding scandal in California after former
prisoners reported being coerced into sterilization.

 

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