Between 2006 and 2010, California state prisons had 148 women sterilized without receiving approval from the state. Furthermore, the Center for Investigative Reporting suggests that another 100 women may have been sterilized since the 1990s. The women were pregnant at the time and were encouraged to have tubal ligations performed by doctors hired by the state. According to the report, these doctors were paid $147,460 between 1997 and 2010.
One woman who was incarcerated at Valley State Prison for auto theft and gave birth in 2006 said prison doctor James Heinrich advised her to have the procedure done once he found out she had five kids. "He made me feel like a bad mother if I didn’t do it," she said. According to Heinrich, he was just aiding women who might experience pregnancy complications due to past cesarean sections.
[via Newser]
