State prisons violated procedures in sterilizations, audit finds

Reporting from Sacramento — At least 39 female inmates at California prisons underwent sterilizations in which the women’s “informed consent” was in question, according to a state audit released Thursday.

The inquiry by the California state auditor found no evidence that the inmates’ doctors documented that the women had consented to the procedure in 27 cases. In 18 cases there were “potential violations” that the required waiting period did not elapse between consent and the sterilization procedure, the report stated. Both violations may have occurred in some of the cases.

The auditor’s report criticized the state Department or Corrections and Rehabilitation and a federal receiver overseeing healthcare at California prisons since April 2006 for failing to ensure the proper protocols for inmate consent were followed.

While the procedures were performed at hospitals, not at prison medical facilities, prison officials still had the responsibility to make sure consent were documented, the report stated.

In 27 of the sterilizations, the physician who performed the procedure failed to sign the required form documenting that the women provided their consent.

That deficiency was especially concerning because the doctors’ signatures serve as certification that the required waiting period has been satisfied and that “the patient is mentally competent and understands the lasting effects of sterilization,” the report stated.

At California prisons housing female inmates, 144 women underwent a sterilization procedure known as bilateral tubal ligation between July 2005 and June 2013.

A legal organization representing female inmates in 2010 accused the state of wrongdoing in the sterilization of women prisoners.