Numerous media outlets in the United States are reporting that 150 California female inmates were sterilized illegally between 2006 and 2010 without state approval. The report released by The Center for Investigative Reporting claims that at least 148 women received tubal ligations during that time frame. Records show that between 1997 and 2010 the state paid $147,460 to doctors to perform the surgery on inmates.
Shannon Argueta of Addictinginfo.org writes:
“According to advocates and prison inmates, the staff targeted women they believed would return to prison in the future. OB-GYN, Dr. James Heinrich, who worked at Valley State Prison for Women claims the practice was one that helped poor women who faced the possibility of developing complications from future cesarean sections. Which is entirely possible but not his real motivation, as he goes on to explain. The good doctor commented on the cost effectiveness of the surgeries, claiming that the money spent was not a very large amount, all things considered.”
Women’s rights and social justice activists are enraged over this latest report, which is a modern-day eugenics controversy.
Read more at Addictinginfo.org.
