Report Finds Third of Women Inmates Sterilised in Californian Prisons Were Operated On Without Consent

A shocking new report from The Desert Sun has revealed that nearly a third of 144 women who underwent sterilisation in Californian prisons between 2005 and 2013 were operated on without consent. The report Sterilization of Female Inmates, documented that the state auditor’s office reveals that in 27 cases the inmates' doctor did not give consent confirming that 'the inmate was in her right mind, understood the long-term effects of sterilization or had exhausted the mandatory waiting period.' There were also a number of cases where the report indicates that doctors faked consent forms on behalf of the inmates. The report was prompted by the California Legislative Women’s Caucus after the centre found that prison doctors would often target and harass repeat offenders into sterilization. According to the New York Times, Crystal Nguyen, a former Valley State Prison inmate who worked in the prison’s infirmary during 2007, said she ‘often overheard medical staff asking inmates who had served multiple prison terms to agree to be sterilized.’ The former inmate said:

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s not right. Do they think they’re animals, and they don’t want them to breed anymore?”

The state prison medical officials deny ulterior motives, with the gynaecologist Dr. James Heinrich responsible for over two-thirds of the procedures at one prison alone justifying the practice as cost effective:

“…compared to what you save in welfare paying for these unwanted children — as they procreated more.”

Prison auditors are now demanding to have all offending doctors further investigated and disciplined by the Medical Board and the California Department of Public Health.