California Prisons Sterilize Female Prisons ILLEGALLY!

An investigation has found that California prison doctors sterilized nearly 150 female inmates without official sanction. First reported in the Sacramento Bee, the surgeries took place between 2006 and 2010. The inmates, who were pregnant while incarcerated, agreed to the tubal ligation procedure, but required state authorization was never sought. In further violation of the law, nearly $150,000 in federal funds -- which are barred for such procedures -- were used to pay the doctors for the surgeries.  While some of those who underwent the procedure do not have any complaint about it, some of the inmates interviewed for the article describe measures of coercion used to get their approval for sterilization.