A report released by the California state auditor on Thursday, June 19, reveals the saddening plight of many female prison inmates. The report, which was based on audit of female inmate sterilizations from fiscal year 2005-2006 to 2012- 2013 showed that as many as 39 female prisoners, who may have been coerced or may just be unaware of protocols, underwent sterilization procedures without their lawful consent.
Policies for inmate sterilization require that the patient, who must be at least 18 years old or an independent, should provide consent by signing the California Department of Public Health form at least 30 days prior to her sterilization. The allotted time period is given so the patient can thoroughly ponder on the implications of the procedure and make changes to her decision. The consent form should also be signed by the person who obtained the consent, the physician and interpreter, if one is provided. The patient can also choose a witness who will be present at the time of the consent.
Of the 144 inmates who underwent tubal ligations and other sterilization procedures from 2005 to 2013, the auditors found that 39 were sterilized without their lawful consent. The inmates' doctors did not also sign the consent form in 27 of the cases, which could have attested that a particular patient to be sterilized is mentally competent to understand the effects of her decision and was given sufficient time to think over and reconsider her decision.
The report also revealed that there were 18 cases of potential violations of the required 30-day period from the time the inmate gave her consent to when she had the surgery. Doctors also appeared to have tampered consent forms, indicating that the required 30-day wait is over when it was not clearly the case.
About one third of the women who were sterilized had reading proficiency below that of a sixth grader but while some inmates may have consented without fully understanding the implications of their decision, prisoner advocates and former inmates claim that coercion took place alleging that prison medical staff tend to coerce the women who are likely to go back to prison after getting released. Prison medical staff, however, denied having malicious intent.
"Our audit also noted that prison medical staff infrequently requested approval to sterilize inmates, and when they did so, it was not always clear that these requests were approved," state auditor Elaine Howle wrote in the report for California governor Jerry Brown and legislators.
