SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The state auditor says California’s medical board and Department of Public Health should investigate 17 doctors and eight hospitals involved in illegally sterilizing female prison inmates.
The report issued Thursday recommends investigations into 39 cases in which sterilizations were performed without the inmates’ lawful consent.
They were among 144 cases between 2006 and last year in which inmates had tubal ligations or other procedures for the sole purpose of sterilizing them. Another 650 inmates had other medical procedures that could have resulted in sterilization.
The federal official who controls prison medical care says the cases will be confidentially referred to the department and medical board.
The issue surfaced after the Center for Investigative Reporting found that doctors sterilized nearly 150 female inmates without proper state approval over five years.
